Investigation of the influence of process and screw configurations on fiber length for recycled carbon fiber

The recycling of fibers particularly carbon fibers is challenging, but contains a great potential for the reuse of high-quality material. The processing and handling of recovered fibers is not sufficiently analyzed. Moreover, the processing has an influence on the fiber length in the compound. [1] In order to increase the usage of recycled material in the plastics industry, the whole compounding process must be further analyzed. The analysis includes the examination of the material, the dosage, the feeding and the processing. In some previous research work, the potential of the fibers was determined and a possibility for dosing was worked out. Within this paper, the influences of the process parameters and screw configurations on the fiber length decrease along the screw for recycled Fiberball 100 are investigated. The aim of the work is the description of the influences on the fiber degradation and the determination of the mechanical properties of the produced compounds.