Abstract
Although fiber-reinforced plastics combine high strength and stiffness with being lightweight, major difficulties arise with high volume production and the return of manufactured parts back into the cycle of materials at the end of their lifecycles. In a novel approach, structural parts were produced from recycled material while utilizing the so-called injection molding compounding process. Recycled fibers and recycled polyamide matrix material were used by blending carbon and matrix fibers into a sliver before processing. Injection molding was then used to produce long fiber-reinforced parts through a direct fiber feed system. Recycled matrix granules were incorporated into the injection molding process by means of an injection molding compounder to investigate their influences on the mechanical properties of the parts. The findings show that the recycled fibers and matrix perform well in standardized tests, although fiber length and fiber content vary significantly and remain below expectations.
Highlights
Recycling concepts for fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) materials should be developed early on to improve the materials’ ecological impact [1]
Recycled matrix granules were incorporated into the injection molding process by means of an injection molding compounder to investigate their influences on the mechanical properties of the parts
Questions remain: How might recycling carbon fibers be introduced into recycled polyamide grades? How does this process compare to the use of virgin glass fibers? It is assumed that the processing of recycled carbon fibers in an injection molding compounder (IMC) leads to increased fiber length and mechanical properties compared to established processes, such as injection molding
Summary
Recycling concepts for fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) materials should be developed early on to improve the materials’ ecological impact [1]. The reuse of FRP is a challenge due to the difficulty in the separation of the materials, and mechanical properties gradually deteriorate owing to the shortening of the reinforcing fibers with each recycling cycle. This affects both the matrix material used and the fibers. In the case of this study, the sliver was processed in a so-called injection molding compounder (IMC) utilizing a direct fiber feed for fiber incorporation. It could be shown that the IMC’s single-stage process results in longer fibers compared to regular injection molding, thereby improving mechanical properties compared to short-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics [10,11]. The direct fiber feed module draws the fibers into the twin-screw extruder of the IMC near the end of the compounding step, reducing fiber damage and allowing for higher fiber length in the final part
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