On 26th november, the MORPHO Project held its thrid and final online workshops showcasing “Advances in laser shock techniques and carbon fiber recovery for composite materials”. Expert speakers presented their work and the advancements achieved by consortium members in the Recycling and Sustainability field.
Introduction
Welcomimg and first words were given by Ángela Muñíz, Project Manager at Fundación Empresa-Universidad Gallega – FEUGA, who also encouraged the audience to attend the Morpho Final Conference, scheduled for 30th January in Vigo, Spain. Together with Borja Rodríguez, an Innovation & EU Programmes Manager at FEUGA, they co-moderated this workshop.
Laser Shock Disassembling – Fundamentals and Versatility for Reuse and Recycling
This presentation, made by Laurent Berthe, a senior Researcher CNRS at lab PIMM in Paris, highlights the use of laser plasma shocks for material dismantling, various applications such as coatings stripping, laminate dismantling, and controlled laser damage. It also covers process development and future challenges in predictive approaches for these technologies. These developments aim to enhance efficiency in handling and recycling composite materials.
Numerical Simulation of Laser Shock Disassembly of Adhesively Bonded CFRP/Metallic Parts: From Coupon Scale to Structural Part Scale
This presentation, made by Kormpos Panagiotis, a Mechanical and Aeronautics Engineer at University of Patras, illustrates the debonding process of an FOD panel, which is simulated in three steps with consecutive shots. In the end, the full disassenbly of a 10mm strip can be achieved by 29 consecutive shots. During the process, the composite is damaged, but is confined to matrix cracking, while the fibers remain intact.
Recovery of Carbon Fiber from Composite Aeronautic Components by Thermal Treatment at Industrial Scale
This presentation was made by Pierre Fiasse, European Funding Coordinator at Comet Group; and Xavier Ngungu, Research Engineer at Comet Group. They showed the promising results at lab and pilot scale, as thermal treatment successfully recovers fiber, although mechanical properties are slightly affected (10-15%). However, for large composite parts and upscaling, the results are not fully transferable yet due to potential heterogeneity in the real waste feedstock.
Evaluation of Resized Carbon Fibers for Reuse in Thermoset Composite Manufacturing: A Study of Individual Fibers
This presentation, made by Jun Yin, a Researcher of Sustainable Functional Fibres & Plastics at CENTEXBEL, explains how resizing recycled carbon fibers (rCF) can enhance the shear strength of the final composites. There is no significant impact on the mechanical properties of the single fiber; however, resizing enhances the adhesion force between the resized fiber and epoxy resin. Reusing resized rCFs in composites with various nonwoven structures is feasible. As the rCF% increases, the shear strength of the composites also improves. This is within the framework of the ReCarboSize Project.
European Recycling and Circularity in Large Composite Components (EureComp): Sizing Effect on Reclaimed Continuous Carbon Fibres’ Properties Extracted from Recycled Automotive Composite Parts
This presentation, made by Dionisis Semitekolos, a Chemical Engineer PhD candidate at National Technical University of Athens, highlights the efforts made by EureComp in exploring the impact of sizing on the properties of recycled carbon fibers derived from automotive composite parts. It covers the chemical recycling process of continuous fibers, followed by evaluation on a pilot-scale sizing line. The characteristics of the recycled fibers are analyzed through optical microscopy, with results processed accordingly. Finally, mechanical testing is presented to assess the performance of the reclaimed fibers compared to the original ones.