SBIR Phase II: Leveraging Z-axis Milled Fiber to Enhance the Performance, Economics and Sustainability of Carbon Fiber for High-Volume Applications

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种高性能、经济、可持续的碳纤维材料和相关的加工技术，用于消费电子、飞机内饰和大众市场汽车。在目前的工艺中，大约30%的碳纤维在生产过程中被废弃。到2024年，估计有5万吨原始碳纤维将被废弃并填埋。拟议的技术将从废弃纤维中提取价值，并防止处置，与目前商业化的碳纤维产品相比，可降低高达25%的成本。这项技术为这种先进材料创造了更高的用途和新的机会。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目将支持开发一种高性能复合材料，该复合材料利用低成本和可持续的铣削碳纤维。工业卷对卷生产过程将用于复合原始碳纤维与铣削纤维。这些回收的纤维在z轴上定向，采用了一种专利技术，该技术改编自最初用于制造热固性产品的工业过程。拟议的项目将开发一种具有密集z轴增强的热塑性塑料产品，同时保留关键的平面内性能。这种新型热塑性塑料产品的目标是将其转化为大批量消费电子产品、飞机内饰和汽车应用。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the development of a high-performance, economic, and sustainable carbon fiber material and associated processing technology for consumer electronics, aircraft interiors, and mass market automobiles. In current processes, roughly 30% of carbon fiber is typically scrapped during manufacturing. By 2024, an estimated 50,000 metric tons of virgin carbon fiber will be scrapped and disposed in landfills. The proposed technology will extract value from scrapped fiber and prevent disposal, offering up to 25% cost reduction compared with carbon fiber products commercially available today. This technology creates higher usage and new opportunities for this advanced material.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will support the development of a high-performance composite that utilizes low-cost and sustainable milled carbon fiber. An industrial roll-to-roll production process will be used to compound virgin carbon fiber with milled fiber. These reclaimed fibers are oriented in the Z-axis using a proprietary technology adapted from an industrial process originally developed to make thermoset products. The proposed project will develop a market-ready thermoplastic product with dense Z-axis reinforcement while retaining key in-plane properties. This new thermoplastic product will be targeted towards translation to high-volume consumer electronics, aircraft interiors, and automotive applications.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.