Modeling and Simulation of Recycled Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composites with Varying Fiber Lengths

Due to the current trend towards lightweight design across diverse disciplines, the usage of composites such as carbon fiber reinforced polymers has increased enormously in the last decade. With the rising usage of carbon fibers, topics like repurposing of fibers are gaining more importance. One current approach is the production of hybrid yarns from recycled staple carbon fibers and thermoplastic fibers. During each processing step from fiber to hybrid yarn, the fibers are partially damaged [1]. The resulting broad fiber length distribution considerably affects the mechanical properties of the composite. Therefore, the influence of the different fiber lengths on the fiber structures and composite properties should be investigated thoroughly.