Effect of Hybrid Process on Properties of Recycling Carbon Fiber/Sisal Wet-Laid Nonwovens Fabric

To enhance the high-value application of recycled carbon fiber (rCF), wet nonwoven forming technology is used to prepare rCF preform fabrics for composite material processing. At the same time, to avoid the use of chemical binders in the wet-forming process, sisal fiber (SF) is used as a hybrid fiber for forming rCF nonwoven fabrics, using the self-bonding characteristics of natural cellulose fibers in wet-forming. An orthogonal analysis method was used to assess the influence of the hybrid process on the structural properties of rCF/sisal nonwoven (HRCF/SN) fabric. The results showed that the rCF hybrid with SF formed a stable wet-laid nonwoven structure without the application of an adhesive. When the weight percentage of rCF in the hybrid system was 5%, that of polypropylene fiber was 50%, and the length of SF was 10 mm, a HRCF/SN fabric with a longitudinal tensile strength of 44.15kPa and transverse tensile strength of 47.81 KP could be prepared. Among the three factors assessed in this experiment, increasing the weight percentage of rCF in the hybrid system was not conducive to improving the strength of the HRCF/SN fabric. Appropriately increasing the length of SF is beneficial to the strength of the HRCF/SN fabric.