Carbon Fiber
• Also called graphite fiber• It is in the form of several long strands of
a material mainly composed by carbon atoms.
• Each strand is 0.005 – 0.010 mm thick in diameter.
• First made by Dr. Roger Bacon.
Properties
• It has the greatest compressive strength of all reinforcing materials.
• High temperature tolerance• High strength to weight ratio• Low coefficient of thermal expansion• Its density is much lower than the density of steel
Applications
• Used to reinforce composite materials
• Used structurally in high-temperature applications.
• As an electrode with high surface area
and impeccable corrosion resistance.• Anti-static component
Creation
• Spinning: A polyacrylonitrile plastic is spun into fibers which are then washed and stretched to the desired diameter.
• Stabilizing: fibers are heated with O2 to make their bonding more thermally stable.
• Carbonizing: fibers then are heated without oxygen, they lose non carbon atoms and bonded carbon crystals are made.
• Treating surface: the surface is slightly oxidized.
• Sizing: fibers are coated and wounded into bobbins.
Carbon Fiber’s Future
• Alternate Energy: wind turbines, compressed natural gas storage and transportation fuel cells.
• Fuel Efficient Automobiles: moving towards large production series cars.
• Construction Infrastructure: light weight pre-cast concrete, earthquake protection.
• Oil Exploration: Deep sea drilling platforms, buoyancy, umbilical, choke, kill lines and drill pipes.
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