Abstract
Recycling of thermoplastic composites has drawn a considerable attention in the recent years. However, the main issue with recycled composites is their inferior mechanical properties compared to the virgin ones. In this present study, an alternative route to the traditional mechanical recycling technique of thermoplastic composites has been investigated with the view to increase mechanical properties of the recycled parts. In this regard, the glass/polypropylene laminate offcuts are cut in different grain sizes and processed in bulk form, using compression moulding. Further, the effect of different grain sizes (i.e., different lengths, widths and thicknesses) and other process-related parameters (such as mould coverage) on the tensile properties of recycled aggregate-reinforced composites have been investigated. The tensile properties of all composite samples are tested according to ISO 527-4 test method and the significance of test results is evaluated according to Student’s t-test and Fisher’s F-test respectively. It is observed that the tensile moduli of the recycled panels are close to the equivalent quasi-isotropic continuous fibre-reinforced reference laminate while there is a noteworthy difference in the strengths of the recycled composites. At this stage, the manufactured recycled composites show potential for stiffness-driven application.
Highlights
The use of thermoplastic matrices is undergoing a rising trend within the composite industry
Thermoplastic polymers are often reinforced with long, continuous fibre tapes with fibre volume fraction (Vf) above 40% to enhance their mechanical properties and productivity
The traditional mechanical recycling of composites involves a shredding step, giving coarse grains followed by a grinding process, giving finer materials which serve afterwards as reinforcement in thermoplastic injection processes [17,18,19]
Summary
The use of thermoplastic matrices is undergoing a rising trend within the composite industry. The traditional mechanical recycling of composites involves a shredding step, giving coarse grains followed by a grinding process, giving finer materials which serve afterwards as reinforcement in thermoplastic injection processes [17,18,19] This recycling route offers the advantage of achieving a high production rate of complex-shaped parts with low scrap generated on the production line. The mechanical properties of these so-formed materials depend only on the constitutive parameters and on tape arrangement during manufacturing [30,33] This fabrication method of thermoplastic composites is a stand-alone process, but it has the potential to process composite manufacturing scraps and end-of-life parts chopped in relatively large grain size to form an aggregate-reinforced composite [29]. This article highlights some distinctive 3chofa1r5acteristics for future developments of the studied recycling route
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