Recycled Glass Fiber Mat Sizing for Spray Transfer Molding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Recycled glass fibers from end-of-life products like windmills face challenges in applying sizing due to their chopped form, leading to loss of mechanical properties and commercial viability in automotive parts production, especially in thermoset resin recycling and thermoplastic compounding.
Innovation Solution
Converting recycled chopped glass fibers into a non-woven mat and applying predetermined sizing, such as silane sizing, to improve adhesion and mechanical properties, which can be used in spray transfer molding with varying ratios of recycled and virgin glass fibers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If recycled glass is used in chopped fiber form, then recycling efficiency is improved, but sizing application becomes difficult and mechanical properties deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies sizing to recycled glass fibers before they are chopped into small lengths. By performing the sizing application in advance on longer fiber strands, the process ensures proper coating coverage while maintaining the ability to recycle glass efficiently. This preliminary action resolves the contradiction by enabling sizing application on recyclable glass without the handling difficulties associated with applying sizing to already-chopped short fibers.
2Ease of operation
If recycled glass fiber is used without sizing, then handling is easier, but adhesion and mechanical properties are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies sizing to recycled glass fibers before chopping, ensuring that the sizing is properly deposited on the fiber surfaces while the fibers are still long and manageable. This preliminary sizing application maintains ease of handling during the recycling process while ensuring adequate adhesion and mechanical properties in the final composite product.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the physical state and surface properties of recycled glass fibers by applying sizing agents that change the surface chemistry and physical characteristics. This parameter change enables the recycled fibers to maintain both ease of handling and improved adhesion properties, resolving the contradiction between handling ease and mechanical strength.
3Strength
If sizing is applied to chopped glass fiber, then adhesion improves, but process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies sizing to recycled glass fibers before the chopping operation, rather than attempting to apply sizing to already-chopped short fibers. This reversal of the operation sequence simplifies the overall process by performing sizing on longer, more manageable fibers, thereby improving adhesion without significantly increasing process complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent inverts the conventional sequence of operations by applying sizing before chopping rather than after. This inversion resolves the contradiction by making sizing application more feasible and less complex, as it is performed on longer fibers that are easier to handle and coat uniformly, while still achieving the desired adhesion improvement.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the use of high recycled glass content in automotive parts like battery covers with improved mechanical properties and commercial viability by ensuring proper sizing application and handling, enhancing the recycling efficiency of glass fibers.
Implementation Method 1
Having sizing on the recycled glass provides improved adhesion and thereby better mechanical properties
Data Source
AI summary
A process for fiberglass recovered from recycling of windmill or similar products at the end of lifecycle converted into a non-woven fiberglass mat and applying predetermined sizing. Sizing is applied to this fiberglass mat by spraying silane sizing on both sides of the mat. Recycled fiberglass content can be operably varied. Polyurethane resin can be sprayed onto either the recycled non-woven fiberglass mat alone or on a combination of recycled fiberglass mat and virgin fiberglass mat. This resin-impregnated mat is then placed onto a heated tool in a compression molding machine. Exemplary application of the recycled glass fiber mat is in electric vehicle composite battery cover and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle composite battery cover.