Carbon fiber, a great invention

Carbon fiber is a material consisting of extremely thin strands about 0.0002-0.0004 inches in diameter and composed of carbon atoms, which are bonded in micro-crystals, more or less parallel to the fiber’s axis. Their alignment gives the fiber a high strength for its size.

The carbon fiber’s cost is very high, but provides an excellent weight-to-strength ratio. It is very popular due to its properties of low weight, high flexibility and tensile strength, low thermal expansion and temperature tolerance and it is used on a large scale in various areas such as military, aerospace engineering (aircrafts), civil engineering, and automotive industry, motor sports, being highly employed in products like high-class cars, boats, bicycles and planes.

The fiber may be oriented differently, so it can be stronger in one particular direction or equally strong in all directions. The fiber is known for withstanding a huge impact and deforming minimally, due to its interwoven texture which makes it extremely difficult to break. The carbon fibers are basically useless on a stand-alone basis, therefore are combined with other materials to form advanced composites, particularly the class of materials named graphite reinforced polymers.

In terms of strength-to-weight ratio, it is one of the best materials ever produced and, when combined with plastic resin and molded, becomes an extremely rigid material, referred to as carbon fiber reinforced plastic. Unlike glass fiber reinforced plastic, it provides enhanced thermal and electrical conductivity, lower density and higher rigidity. Due to its characteristics related to weight, they are used in airplane components, motor racing car components, sport equipment, subject to increased level of stress such as bicycle frames, and in industrial applications as well, such as robot arms, sleeves of drive shafts or pumps.

The filtration of high-temperature gases is another area where carbon fiber is used as an electrode with excellent corrosion resistance and high surface area. The fire resistance of polymers or thermoset composites considerably improves by molding a layer of carbon fibers because the heat is reflected efficiently by a compact, dense layer of carbon fibers.