Mechanical properties of recycled carbon fibre/polyester thermoplastic tape composites

The increasing use of high-value carbon fibre in composites is linked with increasing waste generation: from dry fibre and prepreg offcuts during manufacturing to end-of-life parts. In this work, a novel thermoplastic tape was produced from 60wt.% manufacturing waste carbon fibres (60mm long) and 40wt.% polyester fibres using a thermal consolidation technique. The thin (0.2mm) and narrow (20mm wide) tapes were then used to fabricate laminated composite panels in two 0/90 tape architectures: cross-ply and woven ply. Various mechanical properties, including tensile, flexural, compression and impact were evaluated. It was found that cross-ply performed better than woven ply laminates, with failure in the latter materials typically initiating at the tape interlacement points.