This paper presents the first results on the characterisation of the damage behaviour of recycled carbon fibre (rCF) rovings manufactured into unidirectionally (UD) reinforced plates. In the first step, the mechanical properties of several material combinations were determined by mechanical tests (tensile, flexural, compression). This proves the usability of the material for load-bearing structures. For example, a tensile modulus of up to 80 GPa and a tensile strength of 800 MPa were measured. Subsequently, the fracture surface was analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to characterise the fibre-matrix adhesion and to obtain first indications of possible failure mechanisms. Despite the high mechanical properties, poor fibre-matrix adhesion was found for all matrix systems. In situ X-ray microscopy tests were then performed on smaller specimens under predefined load levels as transverse tensile and bending tests. The results provide further predictions of the failure behaviour and can be compared to the previous test results. The three-dimensional scan reconstruction results were used to visualise the failure behaviour of the staple fibres in order to detect fibre pull-out and fibre or inter-fibre failure and to draw initial conclusions about the damage behaviour in comparison to conventional fibre composites. In particular, a benign failure behaviour in the transverse tensile test was demonstrated with this procedure. In addition, first concepts and tests for the integration of AE analysis into the in situ setup of the X-ray microscope are presented.
Keywords: acoustic emission; composite material; failure mechanism; fracture initiation and propagation; in situ X-ray microscopy; rCF; recycled carbon fibre; recycling; sizing.