Innovative safer composites made from recycled automotive parts materials

This study investigates the mechanical properties of carbon fiber–reinforced epoxy composites reinforced with recycled textiles from the automotive industry—specifically airbag fabric (nylon 6.6) and seat-belt webbing (polyester). The objective was to assess the potential of these recycled reinforcements to enhance impact resistance, which is critical for automotive safety applications. Six composite configurations with different lay-ups were manufactured: a reference carbon composite (C), a carbon composite reinforced with a conventional aramid fabric (A), and four hybrid composites incorporating nylon 6.6 (AB), seat-belt webbing (P), an aramid/seat-belt combination (AP), and a nylon 6.6/seat-belt combination (PB). Specimens were produced by hand lay-up and subsequently subjected to mechanical testing. Tensile properties were evaluated in accordance with ČSN EN ISO 527-4, and Charpy impact performance was measured according to ISO 179-2 (unnotched). The results showed that incorporating recycled seat-belt reinforcement (P, AP, PB) led to a pronounced increase in impact strength (most notably for AP) compared with the reference carbon composite (C). However, this improvement in toughness was accompanied by a reduction in tensile strength. The aramid-only configuration (A) achieved the highest average tensile strength. The hybrid AP and PB laminates, combining carbon plies with aramid fabric/nylon 6.6 and seat-belt reinforcement, exhibited the best impact energy absorption capability. Overall, the findings suggest that recycled seat-belt textiles represent a promising alternative reinforcement for improving the toughness of carbon composites in applications requiring high impact resistance, provided that the trade-off between toughness and static strength is carefully considered.