Mechanical Performance of a Recycled Carbon Fibre/PP Composite

A composite made of recycled carbon fibres in recycled polypropylene matrix is studied experimentally to describe the features of the elastic and time dependent nonlinear mechanical behaviour. The properties of the developed material have a large variability to be addressed and understood. It was found that the stress-strain curves in tension are rather nonlinear at low strain rate and the strength is sensitive to strain rate. The elastic properties’ reduction for this composite after loading to high strains is rather limited. More important is that even in the “elastic region” due to viscoelastic effects the slope of loading–unloading curve is not the same and that at higher stress large viscoplastic strains develop and creep rupture is typical. The time and stress dependence of viscoplastic strains was analysed and described theoretically. The viscoelastic response of the composite was analysed using creep compliance, which was found to be slightly nonlinear.