Evaluation of Graded Recycled Glass/Epoxy Composite

Composite materials, nowadays, are being used heavily in many industrial applications such as renewable energy, aerospace, and automotive. With the increased production rates, companies relying on the GFRP do not recycle it due to monetary issues using chemical or thermal methods which make it more expensive. Glass fiber recycling methods are mainly divided into mechanical, chemical, and thermal methods. Mechanical recycling involves the reduction in the size of the composite waste into different sizes and different forms such as large particles, small particles, and powder. In the present study, glass/epoxy composite wastes were mechanically recycled by shredding the bulk material. Small particles (< 1mm) and powder recyclates were used as a filler to improve the interlaminar fracture toughness of glass/epoxy composite while large particles (> 1mm) were used as a sandwich-like composite along with chopped strand fiberglass mats. For 25% concentration, samples with 4.75mm particles have improved flexural strength compared to samples with 1.25mm particles. For finer recyclates, it was found that for filler size 600μm and 5% concentration, GIIC was 85% higher than original coupons with higher flexural strength. For filler size 100μm, the performance was enhanced compared to original coupons by increasing the concentrations from 5% to 10%.