Characterisation of composite materials from aligned dry laid nonwovens based on RCF from hydrogen tanks

This study focuses on the production of longitudinal aligned dry-laid nonwovens based on recycled carbon fibres. A comparison of solvolysis, pyrolysis and cut-off fibres was carried out. All fibre types could be successfully processed into continuously oriented nonwovens, with the specific characteristic that these are products with 2 m width. Those nonwovens can be processed with conventional processing technologies and are not bound to tape laying processes. After nonwoven production, composites were produced using a wet compression moulding process and extensively tested using bending and tensile tests. In addition, individual fibre tensile properties and eddy current measurements were carried out. The results show that fibres >50 mm fibre length lead to a higher fibre orientation with the technology used. Additional sizing protects the fibres more during the process and can therefore also have a positive influence on the fibre orientation. The mechanical properties also indicate that lower carbon fibre properties significantly reduce the performance of the composites.