Abstract
The feasibility of using the HiPerDiF (high performance discontinuous fibre) method to manufacture highly aligned discontinuous fibres intermingled hybrid composites with flax and reclaimed carbon fibres (rCF), and the potential benefits of so doing, are investigated in this paper. It is demonstrated that, despite their hydrophilic nature, flax fibres are not affected by this water-based process. Intermingled flax/rCF hybrid composites are characterised in terms of their tensile and vibrational response. It is concluded that natural/rCF fibre hybrid composites can be a viable solution for those applications where a reduction in primary mechanical properties, e.g., stiffness and strength, is an acceptable trade-off for the enhancement of secondary properties, e.g., noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) mitigation, and the reduction of monetary costs.
Highlights
The growing environmental awareness of the general public, the consequent response from legislative bodies, e.g., the “ELV Directive” (Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Union, [1])and a new attention towards sustainability from the industry pose the challenge to develop more sustainable material sourcing and waste management solutions, including the fibre reinforced polymers (FRP) sector
This article focuses on sustainable reinforcement fibres, i.e., reclaimed carbon and flax fibres (FF), remanufactured into an industrially relevant material through a recently-developed technique (HiPerDiF) to produce high performance discontinuous fibres [2]
Technology been used to manufacture. In this technology hashas been used to manufacture with different ratios ratios of reclaimed carbon fibres (rCF)
Summary
The growing environmental awareness of the general public, the consequent response from legislative bodies, e.g., the “ELV Directive” (Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Union, [1]). El-Hafidi et al proposed an experimental and numerical vibration technique for the identification of the linear viscoelastic properties of fibres reinforced epoxy composites that relies on the evolution of storage modulus and loss factor as observed through the frequency response and showed flax composites damping respectively five and two times higher than equivalent carbon and glass fibres composites [23]. Flax/carbon hybrids have been used for bicycle handlebar [45] and frames [46] and, most notably, in the CARBIO project for automotive applications reducing weight, cost and environmental impact while improving noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) mitigation capabilities [47] Owing to their engineering properties and market appeal, sustainable and functionalised aligned discontinuous fibre composites will find their application in transport industry secondary structures (e.g., body, exterior and decorative panels, seat frames and bulkhead) and in the sports and leisure sector (e.g., boards, skis, sticks, rackets, paddles, and bike frames)
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