- Carbon fiber reinforced polymers: matrix modifications and reuse of carbon fibers recovered by pyrolysis
- D'Angelo, Emanuele <1989>
Subject
- CHIM/04 Chimica industriale
Description
- Due to their extraordinary properties, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs) are used in a growing number of fields (automotive, military, aircraft, aerospace, wind turbines, sport, civil infrastructure and leisure). Since the matrix in CFRPs is polymer-based, these composites have poor resistance to fire; additionally, when exposed to high temperatures, they can burn or lose their thermo-mechanical stability. Moreover, the recent huge and continuous development of CFRPs opened the question related to their disposal and total dependence on fossil resources. This thesis focussed on epoxy-based CFRPs. In more detail, commercial epoxy resins have been modified and replaced with bio-based alternatives, and short recycled carbon fibers composites have been produced. Two new bentonite-based organoclays were prepared with low cost reactants and mild reactions conditions and used to modify the flame behaviour of a commercial epoxy resin. The epoxy-modified resin flame behaviour was evaluated by cone-calorimeter and some significant improvements with just a 3 %wt loading level of organoclay were obtained. Furthermore, the possibility to recover and reuse carbon fibers by pyrolysis of CFRPs waste was studied: a validation of the recycling conditions and the treatments required to reuse recycled carbon fibers were assessed in order to obtain clean fibers and promote fiber/matrix adhesion in epoxy composites. Recycled carbon fiber were then used in a lab-scale composite manufacturing process and comparable mechanical properties for virgin and recycled short carbon fiber composites were achieved when an optimized coupled pyrolysis/oxidative process to CFRPs waste is applied. Finally, more sustainable CFRPs have been produced and characterized coupling highly bio-based epoxy systems, appropriately modified and optimized, and recycled carbon fibers. This latter work represents the first attempt aimed at replacing petroleum- BPA-based epoxy resins and high cost short virgin carbon fibers in the future CFRPs manufacturing processes.
Date
- 2018-04-17
Type
- Doctoral Thesis
- PeerReviewed
Format
- application/pdf
Identifier
urn:nbn:it:unibo-22624
D'Angelo, Emanuele (2018) Carbon fiber reinforced polymers: matrix modifications and reuse of carbon fibers recovered by pyrolysis, [Dissertation thesis], Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna. Dottorato di ricerca in Chimica