A recycling device and method for laser processing CFRP material

Abstract

The application provides a recycling device and method for CFRP material based on laser processing, which comprises the following steps: a large spot laser emitted by a continuous laser or a long pulse laser is used to act on a CFRP surface, so that a large-area resin matrix is pyrolyzed, and a surface layer carbon fiber is exposed; a small spot laser emitted by a short pulse laser is used to act on the exposed carbon fiber, a residual resin is gasified by calculating a laser peak power density and controlling a laser parameter, the carbon fiber is not damaged as the carbon fiber does not reach a gasification point, precise pyrolysis is realized, and the surface smooth carbon fiber is obtained; and the carbon fiber is grabbed and pulled out by a soft mechanical hand; and the application can realize large-size CFRP waste large-area high-efficiency high-quality recycling.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of carbon fiber composite material recycling, in particular to a recycling device and method based on laser processing of CFRP materials. BACKGROUND

[0002] Carbon fiber reinforced resin matrix composite (CFRP) is a strategic composite material formed by carbon fiber as the reinforcing phase and epoxy resin as the matrix phase through hot pressing and curing. It is widely used in aerospace, automotive, offshore wind power, sports goods and other industries. However, the wide application of CFRP also means that a large amount of CFRP waste and scrap parts need to be disposed of during the production process and after the end of service.

[0003] Currently, CFRP recycling technologies include mechanical cutting recycling, chemical degradation recycling, and heat treatment recycling, etc. Heat treatment recycling includes high-temperature pyrolysis, fluidized bed pyrolysis, and microwave pyrolysis. Compared with mechanical cutting recycling and chemical reagent degradation recycling, heat treatment recycling takes advantage of the property that the gasification temperature of epoxy resin is much lower than that of carbon fiber, making it easy to remove the resin and greatly preserving the integrity of the carbon fiber. This method is the widely used CFRP recycling technology at present. However, high-temperature pyrolysis equipment has the disadvantages of high energy consumption and easy damage to carbon fiber. Fluidized bed pyrolysis requires pre-crushing of CFRP and can only recover short carbon fibers, and the equipment is complex and the performance of carbon fiber is severely degraded. Microwave pyrolysis is located in a microwave resonance cavity and is not easy to recycle large-size CFRP, and the damage of microwave to carbon fiber is not clear.

[0004] For laser recycling of carbon fiber composite materials technology, Chinese patent publication No. CN 110951110A discloses a method for recycling fiber reinforced resin matrix composite materials using laser. By removing the matrix, strengthening the carbon fiber surface, cutting the carbon fiber, and finally using compressed air to blow the recovered fiber. This method mainly recovers carbon fibers in local areas through pulse laser pyrolysis and pulse laser cutting. Since the pulse laser pyrolysis has low processing efficiency, it cannot meet the requirements of large-size and high-efficiency carbon fiber recycling. In addition, since it uses the method of local pyrolysis and local cutting to recover carbon fibers, it cannot recover carbon fibers in whole and long fibers. In addition, during the recycling process, compressed air is used to blow short fibers, and the recovered fibers are disordered, which limits the application of recycled carbon fibers in high-end fields.

[0005] So far, there is no high-efficiency and high-quality solution for laser pyrolysis recycling of carbon fibers, and there is no related device and equipment. SUMMARY

[0006] In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the application provides a recycling device and method for CFRP material based on laser processing, which can realize large-size CFRP waste large-area high-efficiency high-quality recycling.

[0007] The application achieves the above technical object through the following technical means.

[0008] A recycling device for CFRP material based on laser processing, comprising a first processing unit, a second processing unit, a third processing unit and a movable platform.

[0009] The first processing unit and the second processing unit are the same in structure and comprise a laser, a lifting arm, a scanning galvanometer system and a focusing field lens, the laser is installed on the lifting arm, the laser is connected with the scanning galvanometer system, the optical axis of the light beam emitted by the laser is located on the same center line as the scanning galvanometer system, the scanning galvanometer system is connected with the focusing field lens, the laser in the first processing unit is a continuous laser or a long-pulse laser, and the laser in the second processing unit is a short-pulse laser.

[0010] The third processing unit comprises a mechanical arm and a soft manipulator, and the soft manipulator is controlled through the mechanical arm.

[0011] The movable platform can control the movement of the CFRP waste between the first processing unit, the second processing unit and the third processing unit.

[0012] Further, the scanning galvanometer system controls the uniform movement of the laser beam along the X and Y directions on the surface of the CFRP waste by setting the scanning speed.

[0013] Further, the soft manipulator is made of rubber or polymer.

[0014] A recycling method for CFRP material based on laser processing, comprising:

[0015] The large-spot laser emitted by the continuous laser or the long-pulse laser acts on the surface of the CFRP, so that the large-area resin matrix is pyrolyzed, and the surface layer carbon fiber is exposed;

[0016] The small-spot laser emitted by the short-pulse laser acts on the exposed carbon fiber, the laser peak power density is calculated, the laser parameters are controlled, the residual resin is gasified, the carbon fiber does not reach the gasification point without damage, precise pyrolysis is realized, and the surface smooth carbon fiber is obtained;

[0017] The carbon fiber is grabbed and pulled out by the soft manipulator.

[0018] Further, the continuous laser emits a continuous laser beam with a spot diameter of 0.5-5mm, an output power of 1-2000W, and a scanning speed of 4-5000mm / s.

[0019] Further, the continuous laser emits a continuous laser beam with a defocus amount of-10-10mm and a scanning strategy of an "arch" or "Z" path scanning.

[0020] Further, the long pulse laser emits a long pulse laser beam with a pulse width of 0.1-100ms, a spot diameter of 0.2-5mm, an output power of 1-1000W, a scanning speed of 1-2000mm / s, and a repetition frequency of 0.1-500Hz.

[0021] Further, the long pulse laser emits a long pulse laser beam with a defocus amount of-10-10mm and a scanning strategy of an "arch" or "Z" path scanning.

[0022] Further, the short pulse laser emits a short pulse laser beam with a pulse width of 10ps-200ns, a spot diameter of 10-200μm, an average power of 1-500W, a scanning speed of 5-8000mm / s, and a repetition frequency of 10-1000kHz.

[0023] Further, the short pulse laser emits a short pulse laser beam with a defocus amount of-10-10mm, a peak power density of 10 4 W / cm 2 ~10 6 W / cm 2 orders of magnitude.

[0024] Advantages of the present application:

[0025] 1) The method for recycling carbon fiber reinforced resin matrix composite materials by laser pyrolysis according to the present application is not limited by the size of CFRP, and can realize large-size CFRP waste recycling with large area and high efficiency by taking advantage of the good spatiotemporal controllability of laser.

[0026] 2) Compared with the existing mechanical recycling, chemical recycling and heat treatment recycling methods, the present application does not need to pretreat CFRP waste, nor does it need to use chemical reagents, and the process is simple and pollution-free.

[0027] 3) The present application takes advantage of the good controllability of laser energy, and strictly controls the laser parameters to accurately pyrolyze the resin matrix and retain the undamaged and clean-surfaced carbon fibers.

[0028] 4) The application can select to realize laser and soft manipulator asynchronous or synchronous recovery of carbon fiber tows according to actual engineering application requirements, and realize high-quality and regular ordered recovery of carbon fibers. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0029] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a recovery device for CFRP material based on laser processing according to an embodiment of the application;

[0030] Figure 2 A corresponding Figure 1 A local enlarged view of region A.

[0031] Figure 3 A corresponding Figure 1 A local enlarged view of region B.

[0032] Figure 4 An SEM image of the surface of carbon fibers after pyrolysis of carbon fiber composite materials in the embodiment 1 of the application.

[0033] Figure 5 A corresponding Figure 1 Local enlarged views of regions A and B.

[0034] Figure 6 An SEM image of the surface of carbon fibers after pyrolysis of carbon fiber composite materials in the embodiment 2 of the application.

[0035] Reference signs:

[0036] 1 - processing platform; 2 - lifting arm; 3 - long pulse laser; 4 - short pulse laser; 5 - scanning galvanometer system; 6 - focusing field lens; 7 - movable platform; 8 - mechanical arm; 9 - resin matrix; 10 - scanning path; 11 - carbon fiber; 12 - soft manipulator. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] Embodiments of the application are described in detail below, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference signs represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below by reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are intended to explain the application, and cannot be understood as a limitation of the application.

[0038] In the description of the present application, it needs to be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "axial", "radial", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer" and the like is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, which is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element indicated must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation of the present application. In addition, the terms "first", "second" are only for description purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined as "first", "second" can be explicitly or implicitly included one or more of the features. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "a plurality of" is two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited.

[0039] In the present application, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "mounting", "connecting", "connecting", "fixing" and the like should be understood broadly, for example, it can be fixedly connected, or it can be detachably connected, or it can be integrally connected; it can be mechanically connected, or it can be electrically connected; it can be directly connected, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium; it can be the communication inside two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0040] Next, a laser processing CFRP material recycling device according to an embodiment of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, which comprises a first processing unit, a second processing unit, a third processing unit and a movable platform 7.

[0041] Specifically, the first processing unit and the second processing unit have the same structure, which comprises a laser, a lifting arm 2, a scanning galvanometer system 5 and a focusing field lens 6, the laser is mounted on the lifting arm 2, the laser is connected with the scanning galvanometer system 5, the optical axis of the light beam emitted by the laser is located on the same center line as the scanning galvanometer system 5, the scanning galvanometer system 5 is connected with the focusing field lens 6, the laser in the first processing unit is a continuous laser or a long pulse laser 3, and the laser in the second processing unit is a short pulse laser 4.

[0042] The third processing unit comprises a mechanical arm 8 and a soft robot hand 12, the soft robot hand 12 is controlled through the mechanical arm 8; the movable platform 7 can control the movement of CFRP waste between the first processing unit, the second processing unit and the third processing unit.

[0043] Further, the scanning galvanometer system 5 controls the uniform movement of the laser beam along the X and Y directions on the surface of the CFRP waste by setting the scanning speed.

[0044] Further, the soft manipulator 12 is made of soft material, such as rubber or polymer. Using a traditional manipulator may damage the carbon fibers 11, and the soft manipulator has a stronger ability to grasp small or fragile objects than a traditional manipulator or gripper.

[0045] According to the recycling method for CFRP material based on laser processing, the method comprises the following steps:

[0046] In step one, a large spot of continuous laser or long pulse laser is used to act on the surface of the CFRP to realize the pyrolysis of a large-area resin matrix 9 and expose a large amount of carbon fibers 11 on the surface layer; meanwhile, the heat is transferred along the radial and axial directions of the carbon fibers 11 by using the good heat conduction performance of the carbon fibers 11, so as to indirectly pyrolyze the resin matrix.

[0047] In step two, a small spot and small power of short pulse laser are used to act on the exposed carbon fibers 11, the peak power density of the laser is calculated, and the parameters of the laser are strictly controlled, so that the residual resin is easily gasified, and the carbon fibers 11 are almost not damaged as they do not reach the gasification point, thereby realizing precise pyrolysis and obtaining smooth and clean carbon fibers 11 on the surface.

[0048] In step three, the soft manipulator is used to grasp and pull out the carbon fibers 11, so as to realize the high-quality, regular and orderly recycling of the carbon fibers 11.

[0049] After the carbon fibers 11 on the surface layer are recycled, the CFRP waste is moved to the position of the continuous laser or long pulse laser by the movable platform, and steps one to three are repeated to implement a new round of recycling. Steps one, two and three can be performed in sequence or simultaneously to recycle the carbon fibers 11 while pyrolyzing.

[0050] The continuous laser beam emitted by the continuous laser has a spot diameter of 0.5-5 mm, an output power of 1-2000 W, and a scanning speed of 4-5000 mm / s. The defocusing amount of the continuous laser beam is controlled by the lifting arm 2 to be-10-10 mm, and the scanning strategy is a "bow" or "Z" shaped path scanning.

[0051] The long pulse laser beam emitted by the long pulse laser 3 has a pulse width of 0.1-100 ms, a spot diameter of 0.2-5 mm, an output power of 1-1000 W, a scanning speed of 1-2000 mm / s, and a repetition frequency of 0.1-500 Hz. The defocusing amount of the long pulse laser beam is controlled by the lifting arm 2 to be-10-10 mm, and the scanning strategy is a "bow" or "Z" shaped path scanning.

[0052] The short pulse laser 4 emits a short pulse laser beam with a pulse width of 10 ps to 200 ns, a spot diameter of 10 to 200 μm, an average power of 1 to 500 W, and a scanning speed of 5 to 8000 mm / s controlled by the scanning galvanometer system at a repetition frequency of 10 to 1000 kHz. The defocusing amount of the short pulse laser beam is controlled by the lifting arm 2 to be about -10 to 10 mm, and the peak power density is calculated by the formula to be about 10 4 W / cm 2 to 10 6 W / cm 2 order of magnitude, at which the resin is extremely easy to be gasified and the carbon fibers 11 are almost not damaged.

[0053] Example 1

[0054] As shown in Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 , the recycling method of the CFRP material based on laser processing according to the present application comprises the following steps:

[0055] The CFRP with a size of 60 x 30 x 1 mm is subjected to laser pyrolysis recycling, and the CFRP is composed of T300 carbon fibers 11 and an epoxy resin matrix with a volume fraction of 60% and 40%, respectively.

[0056] The CFRP to be recycled is placed in the first processing unit, and a continuous laser beam is used to act on the surface of the CFRP resin matrix 9. The lifting arm 2 of the first processing unit is manually adjusted, the defocusing amount of the continuous laser beam is controlled to be 4.2 mm, the spot diameter is 2 mm, the output power is 60 W, the laser scanning speed is set to 1200 mm / s by the scanning galvanometer system 5, the laser is scanned at a uniform speed along the "arch" path parallel to the fiber layer direction, and the adjacent scanning pitch is set to 2 mm. After 3 to 5 scans, a large area of the surface layer resin matrix is pyrolyzed, and a large number of carbon fibers 11 are exposed; meanwhile, the heat is transferred along the radial and axial directions of the carbon fibers 11 by using the good heat conduction performance of the carbon fibers 11, so as to indirectly pyrolyze the resin matrix.

[0057] The CFRP subjected to large-area pyrolysis is moved to the second processing unit. The lifting arm 2 of the second processing unit is manually adjusted, the defocusing amount of the laser beam is controlled to be -4 mm, and the short pulse laser 4 is used to act on the exposed carbon fibers 11 with a pulse width of 100 ns, a spot diameter of 50 μm, an output power of 5 W, a scanning speed of 500 mm / s, and a repetition frequency of 100 kHz. The peak power density is calculated by the formula to be about 10 6 W / cm 2The peak power density is 10 W / cm2order of magnitude, the resin is extremely easy to gasify under the peak power density and the carbon fiber 11 is almost undamaged. After 2-3 times of action, the residual resin on the carbon fiber 11 is removed completely, precise pyrolysis is realized, and the carbon fiber 11 with a smooth and clean surface is obtained, as shown in FIG. 6. Figure 4

[0058] The CFRP after precise pyrolysis is moved to the third processing unit. The surface layer carbon fiber 11 is taken out in sequence by the soft manipulator 12, the carbon fiber 11 is recycled to the storage device by moving the mechanical arm 8, and high-quality, regular and orderly carbon fiber 11 recycling is realized.

[0059] Example 2:

[0060] As shown in FIG. 6, Figure 1 , Figure 5 A kind of recycling method of CFRP material based on laser processing according to the present application is as follows:

[0061] Large-size CFRP waste with a size of 500x20x1mm is subjected to laser pyrolysis recycling. The CFRP is composed of T800 carbon fiber 11 and phenolic resin matrix, and the volume fractions are 50% and 50%, respectively.

[0062] The CFRP to be recycled is placed in the first processing unit, and a long-pulse laser is used to act on the surface of the CFRP phenolic resin matrix 9. The pulse width is 0.8ms, the spot diameter is 1mm, the output power is 100W, the scanning speed is 1500mm / s, the repetition frequency is 100Hz, the laser is scanned along the "arch" path, perpendicular to the fiber layer direction, and the adjacent scanning pitch is set to 3mm.

[0063] At the same time, the short-pulse laser 4 of the second processing unit is started, and the short-pulse laser beam acts on the exposed carbon fiber 11 after the long-pulse laser pyrolysis. The lifting arm 2 of the second processing unit is manually adjusted, the defocusing amount of the short-pulse laser beam is controlled to be 3.4mm, the laser parameters are set as pulse width 200ns, spot diameter 100μm, output power 6.3W, scanning speed 700mm / s, and repetition frequency 1000kHz. The peak power density is calculated by formula 10 5 W / cm 2 order of magnitude. The resin is extremely easy to gasify under the peak power density and the carbon fiber 11 is almost undamaged. After 2-3 times of action, the residual resin on the carbon fiber 11 is removed completely, precise pyrolysis is realized, and the carbon fiber 11 with a smooth and clean surface is obtained, as shown in FIG. 6. Figure 6

[0064] The surface layer carbon fiber 11 is taken out synchronously by the soft manipulator 12, the carbon fiber 11 is recycled to the storage device by moving the mechanical arm 8, and high-quality, regular and orderly carbon fiber 11 recycling is realized.

[0065] ​​In the description of the specification, the description of the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "an example", "a specific example", or "some examples" etc. means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In the specification, the illustrative description of the above terms does not necessarily mean the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described can be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.

[0066] Although the embodiments of the present application have been shown and described above, it is understood that the above-described embodiments are exemplary, and should not be construed as limiting the present application, and those skilled in the art can make changes, modifications, replacements and variations to the above-described embodiments within the scope of the present application without departing from the principles and spirit of the present application.

Claims

1. A recycling method of CFRP material based on laser processing, characterized by, The method comprises the following steps: A large spot laser emitted by a continuous laser or a long pulse laser (3) acts on the surface of the CFRP, so that a large area of resin matrix is pyrolyzed, and the surface layer of carbon fibers is exposed; A small spot laser emitted by a short pulse laser (4) acts on the exposed carbon fibers, the peak power density of the laser is calculated, the parameters of the laser are controlled, the residual resin is gasified, the carbon fibers are not damaged as they do not reach the gasification point, precise pyrolysis is realized, and smooth carbon fibers are obtained; The spot diameter of the continuous laser beam emitted by the continuous laser is 0.5-5 mm, the output power is 1-2000 W, and the scanning speed is 4-5000 mm / s; the long pulse laser (3) emits a long pulse laser beam with a pulse width of 0.1-100 ms, a spot diameter of 0.2-5 mm, an output power of 1-1000 W, a scanning speed of 1-2000 mm / s, and a repetition frequency of 0.1-500 Hz; the short pulse laser (4) emits a short pulse laser beam with a pulse width of 10 ps-200 ns, a spot diameter of 10-200 μm, an average power of 1-500 W, a scanning speed of 5-8000 mm / s set by a scanning galvanometer system, and a repetition frequency of 10-1000 kHz. The carbon fibers are pulled out by a soft robot hand (12).

2. The recycling method of CFRP material based on laser processing according to claim 1, characterized by, The defocusing amount of the continuous laser beam emitted by the continuous laser is -10-10 mm, and the scanning strategy is an "arch" or "Z" shaped path scanning.

3. The recycling method of CFRP material based on laser processing according to claim 1, characterized by, The defocusing amount of the long pulse laser beam emitted by the long pulse laser (3) is -10-10 mm, and the scanning strategy is an "arch" or "Z" shaped path scanning.

4. The recycling method of CFRP material based on laser processing according to claim 1, characterized by, The short pulse laser (4) emits a short pulse laser beam with a defocusing amount of -10~10mm and a peak power density of 10 4 W / cm 2 ~10 6 W / cm 2 orders of magnitude.

5. A recycling device for applying the recycling method of the CFRP material based on the laser processing according to claim 1, characterized by, The method comprises the following steps: A first processing unit, a second processing unit, a third processing unit and a movable platform (7); The first processing unit and the second processing unit have the same structure, which comprises a laser, a lifting arm (2), a scanning galvanometer system (5) and a focusing field lens (6), the laser is installed on the lifting arm (2), the laser is connected with the scanning galvanometer system (5), the optical axis of the laser beam emitted by the laser is located on the same center line as the scanning galvanometer system (5), the scanning galvanometer system (5) is connected with the focusing field lens (6), the laser in the first processing unit is a continuous laser or a long pulse laser (3), and the laser in the second processing unit is a short pulse laser (4); The third processing unit comprises a mechanical arm (8) and a soft robot hand (12), and the soft robot hand (12) is controlled by the mechanical arm (8); The movable platform (7) can control the movement of CFRP waste between the first processing unit, the second processing unit and the third processing unit.

6. The recycling apparatus of claim 5, wherein, The scanning galvanometer system (5) controls the uniform movement of the laser beam on the surface of the CFRP waste along the X and Y directions by setting the scanning speed.

7. The recycling apparatus of claim 5, wherein The soft robot hand (12) is made of polymer.

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