Simulation based characterization of recycled carbon fiber reinforced plastics in a rod specimen

Abstract

Abstract This paper aims to characterize recycled carbon fiber reinforced plastics through simulations and predict the behavior of Polyamide 6 (Nylon 6) and Polypropylene (PP) when reinforced with short carbon fibers. By modeling ASTM 638D test specimen and simulating injection molding on Moldflow software, a fiber orientation factor was obtained. This factor was used to predict the tensile strength of the fiber reinforced plastics using modified Kelly-Tyson equation. Digimat software was further used to predict the young’s modulus and micro-analysis of the carbon fiber reinforced plastics. These mechanical properties were calculated for variations in the fiber content (by volume) and fiber length. An efficient CFRP recycling method and the corresponding characterization of the recycled composite can provide a solution to the problem of excessive carbon fiber waste generation and find newer applications for the recycled polymers, thus provide alternatives to the traditionally used materials.