Characterization of mixed fiber nylon composites incorporating composite scrap

Abstract Recycling of engineering thermoplastics and their composites represents both a challenge and an opportunity in today's material science. A study on nylon 6,6 based composites with mixed glass‐fiber and carbon‐fiber reinforcement, including nylon composite scrap in their formulation, is reported. Several formulations were prepared by injection molding and were characterized by stress‐strain‐measurements, impact testing, simultaneous differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetry (DTA‐TG), density measurements and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). No dependence on mechanical properties due to increasing amounts of scrap in the composites was found up to 10.4 wt%. The generated recycled composites generally showed lower mechanical properties as compared with the virgin composite because of a poor matrix‐fiber adhesion.