Aaron Eastman
Senior Project
Carbon Fiber Recycling System
Delamination System
Funded by: Joint Center for Aircraft Technology Innovation (JCATI)
Figure 1. New Design of Delamination System
Figure 2. Completed Assembly of Delamination System and Drivetrain
Introduction
This Joint Center for Aircraft Technology Innovation funded project is in its 5th year here at CWU. The goal of the project is to establish a system for efficiently recycling carbon fiber wing trimmings that are provided by Boeing. The system includes a three step process, a Delamination System, a Shredding System and a Pyrolysis System. The focus for my senior project is to increase the effectiveness of the Delamination System (Figure 2) to near 100%. Currently there is only one step in the delamination process which is one set of crushing wheels. The focus of this project will be adding another set of crushing wheels, and increasing the torque for more available crushing force. A larger frame will also be designed to increase the rigidity of the housing and to align the system with the next step in the process. Overall this project will deliver a more fluid recycling system and a more effective delamination system.
Summary of Results
To test the successfulness of the project three major tests were completed to compare to the original requirements that were set for the redesign. Those tests included linear feed rate, horizontal housing deflection, and percent delamination. As seen in Table 1 below the requirements for feed rate and horizontal deflection were met but the system was only able to delaminate carbon fiber to 60% instead of the requirement of 100%. The project is still considered a success due to it being able to feed carbon fiber through the system without stalling the input motor. The testing results were acquired after many rounds of system improvements to get precise and accurate data of the system at its full potential. More information about the testing can be seen on the Testing Phase page.
