International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) |Volume IX, Issue IX, September 2022|ISSN 2321-2705
A.D.H.T. Wijerathne1, M.T.T. Ranjan1*, U.I.K. Galappaththi2
1Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka
2Far-UK Ltd., Nottingham, United Kingdom
Abstract: The manufacturing and disposal stages of Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) boats become very significant since they generate environmentally hazardous waste. Although most boat manufacturers have upgraded their facilities to minimize waste, the amount of waste generated is directly proportional to the size of the FRP boats. One option for dealing with the waste generated by the FRP boatbuilding industry is to use FRP recyclate for the production of waterproof partition boards. Under the current research, eleven specific manufacturing guidelines for developing waterproof partition boards using recycled FRP waste were developed. Waterproof partition boards were made from crushed flakes from discarded FRP boats and manufacturing stage waste. The crushed FRP flakes of the disposed of boats and manufacturing stage waste were used as raw materials to produce partition boards, and a mechanical shredding process was employed to produce recyclates. The approximate thicknesses and the aspect ratios of the recyclates used to manufacture partition boards were 0.5–2 mm and 0.04–0.3, respectively.
Keywords: Manufacturing guidelines, FRP recyclate, Composite wastes, Impact energy, Mix proportion
I. INTRODUCTION
The boatbuilding industry is one of the oldest transportation mediums in the world. As a result, it gets considerably higher demand from the market, and customers are expecting superior quality, comfortability, and safety from modern boats. Therefore, boat manufacturers are focusing on integrating advanced materials and manufacturing technologies to improve the boatbuilding process compared to the traditional process. The traditional boatbuilding industry uses wood and metallic materials as the raw materials to produce boats, and there are significant issues to be addressed. However, with the development of materials science, those conventional materials for boatbuilding are being slowly shifted towards composite materials. As a result, FRP boats have been introduced to the market to cater to the market’s demand. The FRP boats are made out of fibres as the reinforcing agent and a polymer matrix as the binder [1]–[3]. The excellent strength-to-weight ratio, resistance to environmental conditions and corrosion, cohesiveness, ability to mould complex shapes, low maintenance due to no leaks, no plank shrinkage as with wood, rot-proof nature, flexibility, lighter weight compared to metallic materials, etc. are strengthening the application of FRP in the boatbuilding