Effects of aging on the mechanical properties of CFRP and its impact on re-use and recycling

The present contribution is concerned with an experimental study into aging induced degradation of the mechanical properties of continuously carbon fiber reinforced plastics and its impact on re-use and recycling of such materials. Two different carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) materials with thermoset and thermoplastic matrix are considered. The material is aged in different thermal and humidity environments as well as under UV irradiation with and without intermediate thawing cycles. The material degradation is assessed in tensile experiments after different aging periods. For recycling, a peeling based procedure is proposed and demonstrated experimentally. The answer to the peeling process and the quality of the recyclate are assessed for the material in both the as-received state and aged states.