Influence of resin's chemistry on the bulk properties of CFRPs processed with recycled carbon fibers

The research presented here attempts to assess the potential for re-using carbon fibre (CF) fabrics recovered from recycling infusible acrylic thermoplastic carbon fibre reinforced polymer composites (CFRPs) in a universal manner, i.e. by combining with a wide variety of matrices to manufacture 2nd generation composite laminates by resin infusion. The 2nd generation composites have been compared in terms of bulk and interfacial properties against counteparts processed with virgin carbon fibre fabric infused with the same matrices. The properties of the 2nd generation composites as investigated by ILSS, 3PB and SEM seemed to reveal a not-so-strong influence of the matrix type which makes it effective for universal reuse.