Investigation of the resin infusion process and mechanical performance of carbon fiber reinforced plastic composites from recycled carbon fiber

The disposal of Fiber Reinforced Composites (FRCs) waste is becoming a very critical aspect, from both a technical and an economic point of view, due to the continuous increase of the production of such a class of materials. Thus, the possibility to produce new composites by employing recycled materials is a crucial aspect both to guarantee the circularity of the manufacturing processes and the reduction of costs. In this work, the manufacturing process, together with the performance of a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminate obtained by employing into sandwich structures a novel commercial recycled non-woven carbon fabric with an epoxy resin, have been investigated. The fabrication process based on the Resin Infusion under Flexible Tooling (RIFT) has been selected and performed in different conditions. The mechanical behavior of the resulting laminates has been investigated by quasi-static tensile, and flexural characterization, to evaluate both the optimal conditions for the process, and the possible anisotropy of the product. Moreover, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was applied to complete the post-processing characterization of the resulting laminate by determining the actual carbon fibers (CFs) content, thus, to validate the reproducibility of the manufacturing process. The laminates obtained by the RIFT method exhibited good mechanical properties and isotropy if cross-ply stratification is adopted. The use of recycled CFs allows high sustainability and reduced cost for the composites, making the RIFT method investigated a scalable process and the so-manufactured products a valid candidate for numerous applications.