reFrame (TP2)

Recycled Fibre-Reinforcements for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering

The aim of reFrame is to enable a closed carbon fiber recycling loop while preserving the high-performance potential of carbon fibers. The background to this is that no loss of performance can be accepted in such high-performance components, as otherwise the structural weight and thus, for example, the fuel consumption of aircraft would increase.

In the reFrame project, the idea of combining CFRP sandwich structures with a core made of recycled source material from thermoplastic cover layers is being developed, investigated and implemented. As the cover layer and the core are the same starting material, the entire structure can be recycled and processed into a new core. This creates a closed CFRP sandwich recycling loop with no restrictions on use.

Thanks to the interdisciplinary research cooperation in the inter-university research network HP CFRP (Leibniz Universität Hannover, TU Clausthal and TU Braunschweig) at the Stade site, the entire development can be covered: from the overall design and layout (TU Braunschweig) to material analysis and recycling (TU Clausthal) and production (Leibniz Universität Hannover). The cooperation is supported by the Private University of Applied Sciences Göttingen (PFH), Hansecampus Stade, which is actively involved in the transfer of knowledge and technology.

The conclusion of the project is the realization of a demonstrator of a recycled aircraft structure. The knowledge gained from this will be used in the transfer part with the help of the Private University of Applied Sciences Göttingen (PFH) to work directly with industrial partners on further implementation.