Experimental Investigation into the Mechanical and Piezoresistive Sensing Properties of Recycled Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites for Self-Sensing Applications

Overview

Journal Polymers (Basel)

Publisher MDPI

Date 2024 Sep 14

PMID 39274124

Authors

Bum-Jun Kim

Il-Woo Nam

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

This study investigates the mechanical and piezoresistive sensing properties of recycled carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer composites (rCFRPs) for self-sensing applications, which were prepared from recycled carbon fibers (rCFs) with fiber lengths of 6, 12, 18, and 24 mm using a vacuum infusion method. Mechanical properties of the rCFRPs were examined using uniaxial tensile tests, while sensing characteristics were examined by monitoring the in situ electrical resistance under cyclic and low fatigue loads. Longer fibers (24 mm) showed the superior tensile strength (92.6 MPa) and modulus (8.4 GPa), with improvements of 962.1% and 1061.1%, respectively. Shorter fibers (6 mm) demonstrated enhanced sensing capabilities with the highest sensitivity under low fatigue testing (1000 cycles at 10 MPa), showing an average maximum electrical resistance change rate of 0.7315% and a gauge factor of 4.5876. All the composites displayed a stable electrical response under cyclic and low fatigue loadings. These results provide insights into optimizing rCF incorporation, balancing structural integrity with self-sensing capabilities and contributing to the development of sustainable multifunctional materials.

References

Rodney D, Fivel M, Dendievel R . Discrete modeling of the mechanics of entangled materials. Phys Rev Lett. 2005; 95(10):108004. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.108004. View

Abdou T, Botelho Junior A, Espinosa D, Tenorio J . Recycling of polymeric composites from industrial waste by pyrolysis: Deep evaluation for carbon fibers reuse. Waste Manag. 2020; 120:1-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2020.11.010. View

Boland C, Khan U, Ryan G, Barwich S, Charifou R, Harvey A . Sensitive electromechanical sensors using viscoelastic graphene-polymer nanocomposites. Science. 2016; 354(6317):1257-1260. DOI: 10.1126/science.aag2879. View

Zhang Z, Innocent M, Tang N, Li R, Hu Z, Zhai M . Electromechanical Performance of Strain Sensors Based on Viscoelastic Conductive Composite Polymer Fibers. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2022; 14(39):44832-44840. DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c12120. View

Lee M, Kim D, Park J, You N, Goh M . Fast chemical recycling of carbon fiber reinforced plastic at ambient pressure using an aqueous solvent accelerated by a surfactant. Waste Manag. 2020; 118:190-196. DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2020.08.014. View

Meng F, McKechnie J, Turner T, Wong K, Pickering S . Environmental Aspects of Use of Recycled Carbon Fiber Composites in Automotive Applications. Environ Sci Technol. 2017; 51(21):12727-12736. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b04069. View

Ren Y, Xu L, Shang X, Shen Z, Fu R, Li W . Evaluation of Mechanical Properties and Pyrolysis Products of Carbon Fibers Recycled by Microwave Pyrolysis. ACS Omega. 2022; 7(16):13529-13537. PMC: 9088801. DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c06652. View

Ghaffari S, Seon G, Makeev A . Effect of Fiber-Matrix Interface Friction on Compressive Strength of High-Modulus Carbon Composites. Molecules. 2023; 28(5). PMC: 10003893. DOI: 10.3390/molecules28052049. View

Bhandari M, Wang J, Jang D, Nam I, Huang B . A Comparative Study on the Electrical and Piezoresistive Sensing Characteristics of GFRP and CFRP Composites with Hybridized Incorporation of Carbon Nanotubes, Graphenes, Carbon Nanofibers, and Graphite Nanoplatelets. Sensors (Basel). 2021; 21(21). PMC: 8588181. DOI: 10.3390/s21217291. View

10.

Frank E, Steudle L, Ingildeev D, Sporl J, Buchmeiser M . Carbon fibers: precursor systems, processing, structure, and properties. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2014; 53(21):5262-98. DOI: 10.1002/anie.201306129. View

11.

Jeon J, Yoon C, Quan Y, Choi J, Hong S, Lee W . Effect of fiber entanglement in chopped glass fiber reinforced composite manufactured via long fiber spray-up molding. Heliyon. 2024; 9(12):e22170. PMC: 10782114. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22170. View

12.

Wang X, Wang J, Biswas S, Kim H, Nam I . Mechanical, Electrical, and Piezoresistive Sensing Characteristics of Epoxy-Based Composites Incorporating Hybridized Networks of Carbon Nanotubes, Graphene, Carbon Nanofibers, or Graphite Nanoplatelets. Sensors (Basel). 2020; 20(7). PMC: 7180708. DOI: 10.3390/s20072094. View

13.

Pimenta S, Pinho S . Recycling carbon fibre reinforced polymers for structural applications: technology review and market outlook. Waste Manag. 2010; 31(2):378-92. DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2010.09.019. View

14.

Bajpai A, Saxena P, Kunze K . Tribo-Mechanical Characterization of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Cyanate Ester Resins Modified With Fillers. Polymers (Basel). 2020; 12(8). PMC: 7464198. DOI: 10.3390/polym12081725. View

15.

Mu Q, Hu T, Tian X, Li T, Kuang X . The Effect of Filler Dimensionality and Content on Resistive Viscoelasticity of Conductive Polymer Composites for Soft Strain Sensors. Polymers (Basel). 2023; 15(16). PMC: 10458475. DOI: 10.3390/polym15163379. View