Impact of manufacturing variables on the mechanical performance of recycled glass-enhanced composites

• Increasing the moulding pressure reduced void content and enhanced the flexural properties of the glass/epoxy composites. • Reducing epoxy from 12 wt% to 6 wt% decreased flexural strength by 56% and modulus by 45% due to poor glass particle wetting, particle agglomeration and void formation. • X-ray CT scan and SEM analyses revealed increased porosity and poor interfacial bonding with decreasing binder content. • Ceramifying glass/epoxy composites caused epoxy matrix volatilisation increasing the void content and consequently reducing mechanical properties due to interfacial debonding. • The reinforcement wire mesh had very little impact on the flexural and tensile properties of the glass/epoxy composites but improved shatter resistance installation. This study investigated the influence of various manufacturing conditions – including moulding pressure, post-curing, and aging – on the microstructure and mechanical properties (flexural and tensile) of epoxy matrix composites incorporating recovered glass particles at weight fractions ranging from 84 wt% to 90 wt%. The study focused on understanding how these conditions affect the interfacial bonding between the glass particles, epoxy matrix, and void content to establish a correlation between microstructure and mechanical performance before and after ceramification. The findings revealed that increasing moulding pressure from 1.1 MPa to 6.6 MPa reduced void content, increased composite density, and significantly improved flexural properties. The impact of post-curing on the composites’ flexural performance was also examined, and it was found that adjusting the epoxy matrix weight fraction from 6 wt% to 12 wt% further influenced the composite’s mechanical properties. X-ray computed tomography (CT) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses revealed changes in composite porosity and interfacial bonding, enabling the correlation of these microstructural changes with variations in mechanical properties for both non-ceramified and ceramified composites. Ceramification induced additional microstructural changes, including the formation of voids, which influenced the composites’ mechanical properties. Additionally, the effect of integrating steel wire mesh with 6.5 mm apertures on the mechanical performance of the glass/epoxy composites, both before and after ceramification, was explored.