Characterization and prediction of tensile properties of carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastics composed of hybrid short carbon fiber/PA6 fiber nonwoven mats

Hybrid carbon fiber/resin fiber nonwoven mats are considered as a highly promising application of recycled carbon fibers due to their low cost and simple synthesis process. However, the mechanical properties of hybrid nonwoven mats are subject to uncertainties due to nonuniformity of fiber orientations during production procedures, which restricts their use in structural components. This study investigates the characteristics of various types of hybrid nonwoven mats with different volume fractions and fiber orientation distributions. Notably, the investigation yields noteworthy tensile properties, exemplified by a tensile strength of 367.20 MPa and a stiffness of 32.85 GPa, when the volume fraction is 28.9%. Tensile properties of the hybrid nonwoven mats and their fluctuations are then analyzed through statistical analyses. A three-dimensional microstructure-based fiber network model is established using the Monte Carlo method to represent the statistical and stochastic properties of the material. Furthermore, a prediction method of tensile properties based on microstructural properties in the model is proposed, which shows good agreement with all experimental results for adjustments of the volume fraction of carbon fibers, distribution of fiber lengths, and anisotropy of the materials, significantly reducing the experimental burden for optimization research. The tensile characteristics of composites are reliably anticipated with a nominal error margin below 10%. Additionally, this prediction method enables the prediction of scatter and stable standard deviation, making it possible to apply hybrid nonwoven mats in recycling and industrial processes.