New Approach for Processing Recycled Carbon Staple Fiber Yarns into Unidirectionally Reinforced Recycled Carbon Staple Fiber Tape

Abstract

This study describes a novel process in which staple fiber yarns made from recycled carbon fibers (rCFs) and polyamide 6 (PA6) fibers are further processed into semi-finished tape products in a modified impregnation and calendaring process. In this process, the staple fiber yarns are heated above the melting temperature of the polymer, impregnated, and stretched to staple fiber tapes (SF tapes) in the calendaring unit. SF tapes with different degrees of stretching and/or repasses were produced. The individual width and thickness were measured in line by a laser profile sensor. From these tapes, preforms were manually laid and processed into laminates in an autoclave. The important physical properties of the unidirectionally reinforced laminates made of the tapes were compared with organic sheets wound from staple fiber yarns. With increasing stretching, both the fiber orientation and mechanical properties improved compared to the organic sheets made from unstretched staple fiber yarns. An improvement in fiber orientation relative to the process direction from 66.3% to 91.9% (between ±10°) and 39.1% to 71.6% (between ±5°), respectively, was achieved for a two-stage stretched tape. The tensile and flexural moduli were increased by 15.2% and 14.5%, respectively.

Study on Thin Lamination of Carbon Fiber Based on Mechanical Broadening

“…At the same time, the diameter of tow fibers is also prone to fiber buckling and the dislocation of the layering angle during the molding process, resulting in mechanical properties that cannot meet design requirements. Carbon fiber composite structures made of thin layers of carbon fiber prepreg tow have excellent static and dynamic mechanical properties [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. However, the difficulty and the cost of preparing thin-layer carbon fibers have become a difficult problem restricting the development of high-performance carbon fiber composites [ 11 , 12 , 13 ].…”