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Title Remanufacturing of end-of-life glass-fiber reinforced composites via UV-assisted 3D printing
ID_Doc 16430
Authors Mantelli, A; Levi, M; Turri, S; Suriano, R
Title Remanufacturing of end-of-life glass-fiber reinforced composites via UV-assisted 3D printing
Year 2020
Published Rapid Prototyping Journal, 26, 6
DOI 10.1108/RPJ-01-2019-0011
Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the potential of three-dimensional printing technology for the remanufacturing of end-of-life (EoL) composites. This technology will enable the rapid fabrication of environmentally sustainable structures with complex shapes and good mechanical properties. These three-dimensional printed objects will have several application fields, such as street furniture and urban renewal, thus promoting a circular economy model. Design/methodology/approach For this purpose, a low-cost liquid deposition modeling technology was used to extrude photo-curable and thermally curable composite inks, composed of an acrylate-based resin loaded with different amounts of mechanically recycled glass fiber reinforced composites (GFRCs). Rheological properties of the extruded inks and their printability window and the conversion of cured composites after an ultraviolet light (UV) assisted extrusion were investigated. In addition, tensile properties of composites remanufactured by this UV-assisted technology were studied. Findings A printability window was found for the three-dimensional printable GFRCs inks. The formulation of the composite printable inks was optimized to obtain high quality printed objects with a high content of recycled GFRCs. Tensile tests also showed promising mechanical properties for printed GFRCs obtained with this approach. Originality/value The novelty of this paper consists in the remanufacturing of GFRCs by the three-dimensional printing technology to promote the implementation of a circular economy. This study shows the feasibility of this approach, using mechanically recycled EoL GFRCs, composed of a thermoset polymer matrix, which cannot be melted as in case of thermoplastic-based composites. Objects with complex shapes were three-dimensional printed and presented here as a proof-of-concept.
Author Keywords Composites; Mechanical properties; Rheology; Recycling; Circular economy
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED)
EID WOS:000544067900001
WoS Category Engineering, Mechanical; Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Research Area Engineering; Materials Science
PDF https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/RPJ-01-2019-0011/full/pdf?title=remanufacturing-of-end-of-life-glass-fiber-reinforced-composites-via-uv-assisted-3d-printing
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