Recycling and Reutilization of Waste Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics: Current Status and Prospects.

The extensive use of carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) in aerospace, civil engineering, and other fields has resulted in a significant amount of waste, leading to serious environmental issues. Finding appropriate methods for recycling CFRP waste and effectively reusing recycled carbon fibers (rCFs) has become a challenging task. This paper presents an overview of the current status of CFRP waste and provides a systematic review and analysis of recycling technologies. In addition to discussing mechanical recycling, thermal decomposition, and chemical solvent degradation methods, the organic alkali/organic solvent method for recycling resins is also elucidated. By introducing the recycling conditions and outcomes of the organic alkali/organic solvent method, the study highlights its significance as a reference for carbon fiber recycling. Furthermore, the paper reviews the current state of rCFs utilization based on its application domains, focusing on research advancements in fiber composites and cementitious composites. Based on these findings, the paper summarizes the existing research limitations and identifies specific areas that require further attention in recycling techniques and rCFs utilization. Lastly, this review provides a prospect on the future of recycling and reusing CFRP waste.

Psychological needs of parents of children with complicated congenital heart disease after admitting to pediatric intensive care unit: A questionnaire study.

BACKGROUND: Parents of children with complicated congenital heart disease (CHD) have different needs after surgery. Little literature reports the impact factors for psychological needs of parents of children with complicated CHD. AIM: To investigate the status quo of the needs of parents of children after surgery for complex CHD, and analyze the influencing factors, in order to provide a theoretical basis for formulating corresponding nursing countermeasures. METHODS: A modified Chinese version of the Critical Care Family Needs Inventory (M-CCFNI) was used to select 200 parents of children with complex CHD after surgery within 72 h after admission to the intensive care unit in our hospital to conduct an online questionnaire survey. The aim was to understand the needs of parents in relation to the following five aspects: The support from medical staff, comfort of the parents themselves, the acquisition of information, their closeness to the children, and assurance of the child's condition. RESULTS: Parents of children with complex CHD had a higher degree of demand, especially in terms of condition assurance, acquisition of information, and closeness to the children. The age, education level, and residence of the parents were related to the five dimensions of the needs of parents of children with complex CHD who had undergone surgery. CONCLUSION: In practice, nurses should formulate corresponding nursing strategies based on the different cultural and social backgrounds of parents of children after complex CHD surgery to meet their different needs, and improve satisfaction. These findings provide a theoretical basis for constructing a family participatory nursing model for children in the intensive care unit in the future.

Orthogonal Experimental Analysis and Mechanism Study on Electrochemical Catalytic Treatment of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Plastics Assisted by Phosphotungstic Acid.

Preserving the integrity of carbon fibers when recycling carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRPs) has been unfeasible due to the harsh reaction conditions required to remove epoxy resin matrixes, which adversely affect the properties of carbon fibers. We establish a practicable and environmentally friendly reclamation strategy for carbon fibers. Carbon fibers are recycled from waste CFRPs by an electrochemical catalytic reaction with the assistance of phosphotungstic acid (PA), which promotes the depolymerization of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A/ethylenediamine (DGEBA/EDA) epoxy resin. The removal rate, mechanical strength, and microstructure of the recycled carbon fibers are analyzed to explore the mechanism of the electrochemical treatment. The influence of three factors-current density, PA concentration, and reaction time-are studied via an orthogonal method. Range analysis and variance analysis are conducted to investigate the significance of the factors. The optimal conditions are determined accordingly. The underlying CFRP degradation mechanism is also investigated.

Anodic and Mechanical Behavior of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer as a Dual-Functional Material in Chloride-Contaminated Concrete.

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) has been used as a dual-functional material in a hybrid intervention system (ICCP-SS) which integrates the impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) and structural strengthening (SS). The mechanical behavior of CFRP as an anode has been investigated in some solution environments. However, the anodic and mechanical behavior of CFRP bonded to concrete is unclear. This paper focuses on the anodic and mechanical performance of CFRP bonded to the chloride-contaminated concrete by conducting an electrochemical (EC) test. The method of bonding the CFRP to the concrete and the shape of the steel embedded in the concrete were considered. The current densities of 20 mA/m2 and 100 mA/m2 were applied during 120-day and 310-day EC tests. The electrode potentials and driving voltages were recorded, and the bond interfaces of the CFRP were inspected after EC test. The residual tensile strength and failure modes of the CFRP were analyzed after tensile tests. Finally, the long-term performance of CFRP as a dual-functional material in ICCP-SS system was discussed. Results show that the externally bonding CFRP in ICCP-SS system can not only protect the steel in chloride-contaminated concrete effectively but also maintain 70% of the original tensile strength of CFRP at a charge density of 744 A·h/m2. The expected service period of CFRP as a dual-functional material bonded to the chloride-contaminated concrete was determined to be more than 42.5 years.

Behaviour of Corroded Single Stud Shear Connectors.

In this study, the effect of corrosion on the static behavior of stud shear connectors was investigated. An innovative test setup for single stud shear connectors was designed and established. Two series of specimens having different stud diameters were fabricated and tested. The test specimens were firstly corroded to different corrosion rates by the electronic accelerating method. Static loading tests were then performed to obtain the load-slip curves and ultimate strengths of the corroded test specimens. The actual corrosion rates were measured from the studs obtained from the tested specimens. The test results were compared with the push out test specimens having similar corrosion rates. It is shown that the test results obtained from the single stud shear connectors are conservative compared with the corroded push test specimens, which prove the validation of the single stud shear connector test method. The effect of corrosion on the behavior of stud shear connectors was also presented.

Mechanical and Electrochemical Performance of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer in Oxygen Evolution Environment.

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) is recognized as a promising anode material to prevent steel corrosion in reinforced concrete. However, the electrochemical performance of CFRP itself is unclear. This paper focuses on the understanding of electrochemical and mechanical properties of CFRP in an oxygen evolution environment by conducting accelerated polarization tests. Different amounts of current density were applied in polarization tests with various test durations, and feeding voltage and potential were measured. Afterwards, tensile tests were carried out to investigate the failure modes for the post-polarization CFRP specimens. Results show that CFRP specimens had two typical tensile-failure modes and had a stable anodic performance in an oxygen evolution environment. As such, CFRP can be potentially used as an anode material for impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) of reinforced concrete structures, besides the fact that CFRP can strengthen the structural properties of reinforced concrete.

Dual Function Behavior of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer in Simulated Pore Solution.

The mechanical and electrochemical performance of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) were investigated regarding a novel improvement in the load-carrying capacity and durability of reinforced concrete structures by adopting CFRP as both a structural strengthener and an anode of the impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) system. The mechanical and anode performance of CFRP were investigated in an aqueous pore solution in which the electrolytes were available to the anode in a cured concrete structure. Accelerated polarization tests were designed with different test durations and various levels of applied currents in accordance with the international standard. The CFRP specimens were mechanically characterized after polarization. The measured feeding voltage and potential during the test period indicates CFRP have stable anode performance in a simulated pore solution. Two failure modes were observed through tensile testing. The tensile properties of the post-polarization CFRP specimens declined with an increased charge density. The CFRP demonstrated success as a structural strengthener and ICCP anode. We propose a mathematic model predicting the tensile strengths of CFRP with varied impressed charge densities.

Polarization Induced Deterioration of Reinforced Concrete with CFRP Anode.

This paper investigates the deterioration of reinforced concrete with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) anode after polarization. The steel in the concrete was first subjected to accelerated corrosion to various extents. Then, a polarization test was performed with the external attached CFRP as the anode and the steel reinforcement as the cathode. Carbon fiber reinforced mortar and conductive carbon paste as contact materials were used to adhere the CFRP anode to the concrete. Two current densities of 1244 and 2488 mA/m², corresponding to the steel reinforcements were applied for 25 days. Electrochemical parameters were monitored during the test period. The deterioration mechanism that occurred at the CFRP/contact material interface was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The increase of feeding voltage and the failure of bonding was observed during polarization process, which might have resulted from the deterioration of the interface between the contact material and CFRP. The formation and accumulation of NaCl crystals at the contact material/CFRP interface were inferred to be the main causes of the failure at the interface.

Electrical and Mechanical Performance of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Used as the Impressed Current Anode Material.

An investigation was performed by using carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) as the anode material in the impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) system of steel reinforced concrete structures. The service life and performance of CFRP were investigated in simulated ICCP systems with various configurations. Constant current densities were maintained during the tests. No significant degradation in electrical and mechanical properties was found for CFRP subjected to anodic polarization with the selected applied current densities. The service life of the CFRP-based ICCP system was discussed based on the practical reinforced concrete structure layout.

Constituents of the root of Anemone tomentosa.

A new diterpene glycoside, tomentoside I (1), along with eleven known compounds, including the four coumarins, 4,5-dimethoxyl-7-methylcoumarin (2), 4,7-dimethoxyl-5-methylcoumarin (3), isofraxidin (4) and fraxidin (5) as well as the seven triterpenoids, oleanolic acid (6), oleanolic acid 3-O-α-L-arabinopyranoside (7), oleanolic acid 3-O-ß-D-galactopyranosyl-(1→3)-ß-D-glucopyranoside (8), hederagenin 3-O-α-L-arabinopyranoside (9), betulinic acid (10), 18-hydroxyursolic acid (11) and 2α,3ß,23-trihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid (12) were isolated from the ethanolic extract of the root of Anemone tomentosa and their chemical structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. The antimicrobial activities of compounds 1-12 were measured using the agar disc-diffusion method. Also, their antioxidant activities against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) were evaluated.

Flavonoid constituents from the roots of Acanthopanax brachypus.

Two new natural products, (3R)-5,7-dihydroxy-8-(2″-O-veratroyl-ß-D-glucopyranosyl)-3-(4'-hydroxyphenyl)-6-methylchroman-4-one (1) and 4'-hydroxyisoflavone-7-O-[α-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1→6)-ß-D-glucopyranoside] (2), along with eleven other known flavonoids, were isolated from the roots of Acanthopanax brachypus. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic and chemical evidence.