Carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) are promising next-generation, lightweight materials for use in the automotive and aerospace industries. Unfortunately, the production cost of virgin carbon fiber is expensive, the manufacturing of CFRP parts is costly and wasteful, and the recycling of CFRP generally results in (1) the reduced mechanical properties of recycled carbon fibers (rCF) and (2) the incorporation of rCF into low-value composites. In efforts to improve upon these areas, we have recently developed malleable, healable, and recyclable vitrimer composites with milled rCF that have produced promising material and mechanical properties—this work aims to investigate and understand the damage/failure mechanisms of these materials. Herein, we utilize dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to understand and observe the damage mechanisms that result in the mechanical failure of these materials. Further, we utilize this information to inform the development of a constitutive model. The model is based on a statistical description of the network structure. The principles of thermodynamics are then used to derive the constitutive behavior for CFRP.
Malleable crosslinked polymers represent a new class of materials, wherein reversible covalent bonds are employed. These materials can exhibit mechanical properties of typical thermosets under ambient conditions, yet at elevated temperatures or under other stimuli they can be reprocessed and recycled like thermoplastics through a cross-link exchange and rearrangement process, usually with the aid of catalysts. This presentation will focus on the development of a light-weight composite material consisting of a catalyst-free thermoset matrix and low-density nanofillers or carbon fibers (CFs). The resulting composites become malleable upon thermal activation, thus enabling its unique reprocessability, rehealability, and full recyclability while retaining good mechanical properties.
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