Manufacturing of recycled carbon fiber reinforced polypropylene composites by high speed thermo-kinetic mixing for lightweight applications

Recycled carbon fiber reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites were fabricated by using high speed thermo-kinetic mixer. The effect of recycled carbon fiber on the morphological, chemical, physical, thermal, and mechanical properties of PP composites was investigated. The results indicate that the tensile and flexural strength of PP increase with addition of recycled carbon fiber up to 20 wt%. When 40 wt% recycled carbon fiber was added into PP, the tensile and flexural moduli were increased by about 177 and 359%, respectively. The coefficient of thermal expansion was found to be decreased by increasing recycled carbon fiber weight fraction. The addition of low weight fraction of recycled carbon fibers (up to 5 wt%) increased the nucleation process on PP crystallization. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:3656-3665, 2018. (c) 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers