Design for repurposing of composite products

Abstract

With the emerging demand for energy-efficient products, the composite material has become a point of attraction for many product manufacturers. Furthermore, with its high strength to weight ratio, long life span, low maintenance and design flexibility, composite materials offer tailored properties by choosing an appropriate combination of reinforcement and matrix material. Being one of the leading users of composite material, the Netherlands is a global player in the field of design, automation, material development and sustainability in the field of high-grade-reinforced plastic.

Recycling of the decommissioned composite material remains underdeveloped research. The current shredding and inefficient recycling result in the loss of material property, struggling to find its scalable application in the market. However, the composite material has a longer life than its entire product, resulting in premature decommissioning of the material due to constant development in the product design. One way around this problem is repurposing. Therefore, there is a need to look for an alternative approach.

Repurposing aims to keep the material alive by utilising its shape and remaining potential in serving an additional product life with a different application. However, the concept of repurposing is undiscovered in the field of composite material.

This graduation thesis aims to create a set of guidelines for industrial designers and companies, guiding them to efficiently utilise the composite material’s value with the practice of scalable repurposing.

Further to industrialise and streamline the repurposing practice, there is a need for product lifecycle management, assisting repurposing industrial designers and companies with the set of prerequisite information.

By case study of repurposing an aircraft galley made from the glass fibre reinforced plastic into a bicycle cart for kids, various operations, including disassembly, dismantling and re-manufacturing, were executed to gain a closer look into the repurposing. In addition, different stakeholders’ roles in repurposing were identified by conducting interviews with various actors involved in the composite industry. With the help of the theoretical and practical insights gathered during the exploratory phase, the PLM framework and guidelines were formulated focusing on scalable repurposing of the composite material.

A revised set of guidelines was proposed by evaluating the draft guidelines through an interview with the repurposing company and a co-creation session involving various stakeholders, education experts and industrial designers. Based on the evaluation, it can be concluded that the guidelines can serve as a base for implementing the repurposing practice, where the industrial designer can connect the detached stakeholder and guide the implementation of composite repurposing.

However, to make these guidelines well qualified for all the composite products from different sectors, a wide range of case studies should be conducted. Although these guidelines are formulated to support industrial designers to impact repurposing positively, further work is needed to conduct a business model, real case scenario, and policy management to look into the guidelines’ pertinency.