Engineering Commons^™

Composite Recycler: Delamination, Nathan Sauer

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A great deal of composite waste is generated in the construction of wings for the Boeing 777. These carbon fiber “wing trimmings” are currently being disposed of in a landfill. These carbon fiber boards are made of several layers laminated together, making them very rigid and hard to recycle. This report proposes a method to delaminate the layers of these composite wing trimmings using a hydraulic press and a V-shaped steel die so that they may be more easily shredded and thus recycled. A top, “male” die with two points is pressed into a bottom, “female” die with three points …