Substitution of virgin carbon fiber with low-cost recycled fiber in automotive grade injection molding polyamide 66 for equivalent composite mechanical performance with improved sustainability

Peter E. Caltagirone; Ryan S. Ginder; Soydan Ozcan; Kai Li; Alex M. Gay; Jared Stonecash; Kenneth X. Steirer; Dylan Cousins; Sean P. Kline; Andrew T. Maxey; Aaron P. Stebner

doi:10.1016/j.compositesb.2021.109007

Substitution of virgin carbon fiber with low-cost recycled fiber in automotive grade injection molding polyamide 66 for equivalent composite mechanical performance with improved sustainability

Peter E. Caltagirone, Ryan S. Ginder, Soydan Ozcan, Kai Li, Alex M. Gay, Jared Stonecash, Kenneth X. Steirer, Dylan Cousins, Sean P. Kline, Andrew T. Maxey, Aaron P. Stebner

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

Recycled carbon fiber has historically proven challenging to integrate into composite manufacturing due in no small part to the low-density, randomly oriented, discontinuous fiber format that results from typical recycling. Discontinuous fiber requires the use of alternative technologies than those traditionally applied to continuous fiber (e.g., hand lay-up, winding). Extrusion compounding is one such applicable technology, but material transfer into the system requires alternative feeding equipment or the use of an altered procedure as trialed in this research. In this study, an injection molding compound for automotive applications was prepared with recycled carbon fiber and compared against an existing commercial compound. Input fibers and molded compound were evaluated for mechanical performance, while relevant variables such as compounded fiber alignment and aspect ratio were compared to the existing baseline material to confirm a like-for-like composite material structure. Analysis indicates that recycled fiber performs similarly to virgin fiber reinforcement, demonstrating that recycled fiber may be a viable drop-in replacement for short-fiber discontinuous applications.

Original language	English
Article number	109007
Journal	Composites Part B: Engineering
Volume	221
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2021.109007
State	Published - Sep 15 2021

Funding

The authors acknowledge the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) for their administrative support of this collaboration. The authors also acknowledge the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) for their financial support through grants CTGG1 2018–1981 and CTGG1 2018–0632, as well as the Advanced Industries Accelerator Program and JobsOhio for their support of the project. The authors thank Oak Ridge National Laboratory personnel David McConnell for assistance with filament characterization, Harry Meyer III for assistance with XPS testing, and Denver McGrady for assistance with FLD measurements as well as Prof. Uday Vaidya's team at the University of Tennessee Knoxville for their assistance with impact test specimen preparation. The authors also acknowledge Ford and BASF for their contributions to the carbon fiber industry, making the research in this paper possible. This manuscript has been authored in part by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy (DOE) will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan). The information, data, or work presented herein was funded in part by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), under Award Number DE-EE0006926. The information, data, or work presented herein was funded in part by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. The authors acknowledge the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) for their administrative support of this collaboration. The authors also acknowledge the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) for their financial support through grants CTGG1 2018–1981 and CTGG1 2018–0632, as well as the Advanced Industries Accelerator Program and JobsOhio for their support of the project. The authors thank Oak Ridge National Laboratory personnel David McConnell for assistance with filament characterization, Harry Meyer III for assistance with XPS testing, and Denver McGrady for assistance with FLD measurements as well as Prof. Uday Vaidya's team at the University of Tennessee Knoxville for their assistance with impact test specimen preparation. The authors also acknowledge Ford and BASF for their contributions to the carbon fiber industry, making the research in this paper possible. This manuscript has been authored in part by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy (DOE) will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan ). The information, data, or work presented herein was funded in part by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy ( EERE) , under Award Number DE-EE0006926 . The information, data, or work presented herein was funded in part by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

Funders	Funder number
DOE Public Access Plan
Harry Meyer III
Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation
United States Government
Ford Foundation
U.S. Department of Energy
BASF	DE-AC05-00OR22725
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy	DE-EE0006926
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade	CTGG1 2018–1981, CTGG1 2018–0632

Keywords

Carbon fibre
Discontinuous reinforcement
Mechanical properties
Recycling

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1016/j.compositesb.2021.109007

Cite this

Caltagirone, P. E., Ginder, R. S., Ozcan, S., Li, K., Gay, A. M., Stonecash, J., Steirer, K. X., Cousins, D., Kline, S. P., Maxey, A. T., & Stebner, A. P. (2021). Substitution of virgin carbon fiber with low-cost recycled fiber in automotive grade injection molding polyamide 66 for equivalent composite mechanical performance with improved sustainability. Composites Part B: Engineering, 221, Article 109007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2021.109007

@article{c62cdae39dee4b82a8051e3926dd455b,

title = "Substitution of virgin carbon fiber with low-cost recycled fiber in automotive grade injection molding polyamide 66 for equivalent composite mechanical performance with improved sustainability",

abstract = "Recycled carbon fiber has historically proven challenging to integrate into composite manufacturing due in no small part to the low-density, randomly oriented, discontinuous fiber format that results from typical recycling. Discontinuous fiber requires the use of alternative technologies than those traditionally applied to continuous fiber (e.g., hand lay-up, winding). Extrusion compounding is one such applicable technology, but material transfer into the system requires alternative feeding equipment or the use of an altered procedure as trialed in this research. In this study, an injection molding compound for automotive applications was prepared with recycled carbon fiber and compared against an existing commercial compound. Input fibers and molded compound were evaluated for mechanical performance, while relevant variables such as compounded fiber alignment and aspect ratio were compared to the existing baseline material to confirm a like-for-like composite material structure. Analysis indicates that recycled fiber performs similarly to virgin fiber reinforcement, demonstrating that recycled fiber may be a viable drop-in replacement for short-fiber discontinuous applications.",

keywords = "Carbon fibre, Discontinuous reinforcement, Mechanical properties, Recycling",

author = "Caltagirone, {Peter E.} and Ginder, {Ryan S.} and Soydan Ozcan and Kai Li and Gay, {Alex M.} and Jared Stonecash and Steirer, {Kenneth X.} and Dylan Cousins and Kline, {Sean P.} and Maxey, {Andrew T.} and Stebner, {Aaron P.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 Elsevier Ltd",

year = "2021",

month = sep,

day = "15",

doi = "10.1016/j.compositesb.2021.109007",

language = "English",

volume = "221",

journal = "Composites Part B: Engineering",

issn = "1359-8368",

publisher = "Elsevier",

}

Caltagirone, PE, Ginder, RS, Ozcan, S , Li, K, Gay, AM, Stonecash, J, Steirer, KX, Cousins, D, Kline, SP, Maxey, AT & Stebner, AP 2021, 'Substitution of virgin carbon fiber with low-cost recycled fiber in automotive grade injection molding polyamide 66 for equivalent composite mechanical performance with improved sustainability', Composites Part B: Engineering, vol. 221, 109007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2021.109007

Substitution of virgin carbon fiber with low-cost recycled fiber in automotive grade injection molding polyamide 66 for equivalent composite mechanical performance with improved sustainability. / Caltagirone, Peter E.; Ginder, Ryan S.; Ozcan, Soydan et al.
In: Composites Part B: Engineering, Vol. 221, 109007, 15.09.2021.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Substitution of virgin carbon fiber with low-cost recycled fiber in automotive grade injection molding polyamide 66 for equivalent composite mechanical performance with improved sustainability

AU - Caltagirone, Peter E.

AU - Ginder, Ryan S.

AU - Ozcan, Soydan

AU - Li, Kai

AU - Gay, Alex M.

AU - Stonecash, Jared

AU - Steirer, Kenneth X.

AU - Cousins, Dylan

AU - Kline, Sean P.

AU - Maxey, Andrew T.

AU - Stebner, Aaron P.

PY - 2021/9/15

Y1 - 2021/9/15

N2 - Recycled carbon fiber has historically proven challenging to integrate into composite manufacturing due in no small part to the low-density, randomly oriented, discontinuous fiber format that results from typical recycling. Discontinuous fiber requires the use of alternative technologies than those traditionally applied to continuous fiber (e.g., hand lay-up, winding). Extrusion compounding is one such applicable technology, but material transfer into the system requires alternative feeding equipment or the use of an altered procedure as trialed in this research. In this study, an injection molding compound for automotive applications was prepared with recycled carbon fiber and compared against an existing commercial compound. Input fibers and molded compound were evaluated for mechanical performance, while relevant variables such as compounded fiber alignment and aspect ratio were compared to the existing baseline material to confirm a like-for-like composite material structure. Analysis indicates that recycled fiber performs similarly to virgin fiber reinforcement, demonstrating that recycled fiber may be a viable drop-in replacement for short-fiber discontinuous applications.

AB - Recycled carbon fiber has historically proven challenging to integrate into composite manufacturing due in no small part to the low-density, randomly oriented, discontinuous fiber format that results from typical recycling. Discontinuous fiber requires the use of alternative technologies than those traditionally applied to continuous fiber (e.g., hand lay-up, winding). Extrusion compounding is one such applicable technology, but material transfer into the system requires alternative feeding equipment or the use of an altered procedure as trialed in this research. In this study, an injection molding compound for automotive applications was prepared with recycled carbon fiber and compared against an existing commercial compound. Input fibers and molded compound were evaluated for mechanical performance, while relevant variables such as compounded fiber alignment and aspect ratio were compared to the existing baseline material to confirm a like-for-like composite material structure. Analysis indicates that recycled fiber performs similarly to virgin fiber reinforcement, demonstrating that recycled fiber may be a viable drop-in replacement for short-fiber discontinuous applications.

KW - Carbon fibre

KW - Discontinuous reinforcement

KW - Mechanical properties

KW - Recycling

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85107821722&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.compositesb.2021.109007

DO - 10.1016/j.compositesb.2021.109007

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85107821722

SN - 1359-8368

VL - 221

JO - Composites Part B: Engineering

JF - Composites Part B: Engineering

M1 - 109007

ER -

Substitution of virgin carbon fiber with low-cost recycled fiber in automotive grade injection molding polyamide 66 for equivalent composite mechanical performance with improved sustainability

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this