Carbon fibre is a revolutionary material renowned for its exceptional strength-to-weight ratio. Composed of incredibly thin carbon strands, this advanced...
Carbon fibre is a strong, lightweight material made from extremely thin strands of carbon atoms bound together. It's often combined with resin to form a carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite.
Its primary advantages include exceptional strength-to-weight ratio, high stiffness, corrosion resistance, and excellent fatigue properties, making it superior to many traditional materials like steel or aluminum in certain applications.
Common applications span aerospace (aircraft, spacecraft), automotive (racing cars, high-performance vehicles), sporting goods (bicycles, tennis rackets), wind turbine blades, and various high-tech industrial components.
It is typically produced by heating precursor organic polymer fibres, such as polyacrylonitrile (PAN), in a series of furnaces to very high temperatures in an oxygen-free environment. This process removes non-carbon atoms, leaving behind pure carbon fibres.
While its production is energy-intensive, carbon fibre's durability and lightweight nature contribute to fuel efficiency in applications like vehicles and aircraft. Efforts are also ongoing to develop more efficient recycling methods for carbon fibre composites.