Developing a Digital Twin for Carbon Fiber Composites Recycling: Challenges and Future Research Direction

Abstract

A digital twin is among the fast-growing technologies capable of increasing the dynamic development of manufacturing industry in terms of digital transformation in the context of Industry 4.0. The development of digital twin technologies for carbon fiber composites (CFC) recycling is a novel direction that significantly improves the recycling process efficiency. Among various benefits, it provides high-quality process monitoring and automated control. However, digital twins development of CFC recycling face challenges that need to be identified. This study aimed to investigate the challenges of implementing digital twin in the carbon fiber composites recycling process. Three main challenges were identified by adopting the narrative literature review approach. Understanding these challenges contributes to the digitalization of the industry and provides recommendations for further investigation of this area of research. It should be noted that optimization and validation of technical aspects will allow the creation of a solid process data management system and control crucial process variables.