THE TECHNOLOGY

OF CARBON FIBERS

INTRODUCTION
Carbon fibers are a new breed of high-strength materials. Carbon
fiber has been described as a fiber containing at least 90% carbon
obtained by the controlled pyrolysis of appropriate fibers. The
existence of carbon fiber came into being in 1879 when Edison
took out a patent for the manufacture of carbon filaments suitable
for use in electric lamps. However, it was in the early 1960s when
successful commercial production was started, as the
requirements of the aerospace industry - especially for military
aircraft - for better and lightweight materials became of paramount
importance.
Carbon fiber is composed of carbon atoms bonded together to
form a long chain. The fibers are extremely stiff, strong, and light,
and are used in many processes to create excellent building
materials. Carbon fiber material comes in a variety of "raw"
building-blocks, including yarns, uni-directional, weaves, braids,
and several others.

The light bulb created by Edison,

where the filament was a carbon fiber
Source:
http://media.web.britannica.com/eb-media/62/164562004-612789A0.jpg

Thomas Edison
Source:

http://lainfo.es/en/wp-content/uploads/lainfo.es61694-alva-edison-1024x669.jpg

CONTENT
Carbon fiber is extremely strong. It is typical in engineering to
measure the benefit of a material in terms of strength to weight
ratio and stiffness to weight ratio, particularly in structural design,
where added weight may translate into increased lifecycle costs or
unsatisfactory performance.
The carbon fiber drive shaft
(black) and steel drive shaft
(silver) being twisted with
the same amount of huge
twisting force of about 5000
Newtons
Source:
http://sploid.gizmodo.com/heres-howmuch-stronger-carbon-fiber-is-comparedto-st-1521751435

 About 90% of the carbon fibers produced are made

frompolyacrylonitrile(PAN). The remaining 10% are made
fromrayonor petroleum pitch. All of these materials are
organicpolymers, characterized by long strings of molecules
bound together by carbon atoms.

Polyacrylonitrile
Source:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/qvGCMQO4gfU/VTvYw8CtBI/AAAAAAAAAG8/ZNe9mQZlRVs/s1600/Po
lyacrylonitrile%2BFibers.jpg

Petroleum Pitch
Source:
http://www.synertiaexim.com/images/pro
ducts/large/SynergybaseoilsSynergytrading-PetroliumproductsBaseoilproducts-BitumenPitch.jpg

APPLICATIONS
Carbon fiber reinforced composites have several highly
desirable traits that can be exploited in the design of
advanced materials and systems. The two most common
uses for carbon fiber are in applications where high
strength to weight and high stiffness to weight are
desirable. These include aerospace, military structures,
robotics, wind turbines, manufacturing fixtures, sports
equipment, and many others. High toughness can be
accomplished when combined with other materials.
Certain applications also exploit carbon fiber's electrical
conductivity, as well as high thermal conductivity in the
case of specialized carbon fiber which fits in Nuclear
Engineering. Finally, in addition to the basic mechanical
properties, carbon fiber creates a unique and beautiful
surface finish.

Space Shuttle

Military Tanks (PL

01)

Structures
Exo-suit (XOS 2)

Airplanes (C
5M)

Energy Farms

GENERALIZATION / CONCLUSION

Carbon Fibers are widely used in different things,

proving that its strength and durability are more
significant and a standard of high quality material

RECOMMENDATIONS
Carbon Fibers have many applications, and it
might be the next thing in the near future
and its applications as well as its purpose
might even used in much further technology
and usage in fields such as:
- Medicine
- Agriculture
- Transportation
- Oil explorations

REFERENCES
https://dragonplate.com/sections/technology.asp
http://web.utk.edu/~mse/Textiles/CARBON%20FIBERS.htm
http://wpvcemweb02.itap.purdue.edu/ect/links/technologies/civil/sm
artconcrete.aspx
http://www.synertiaexim.com/images/products/large/Synergybaseoil
s-Synergytrading-Petroliumproducts-BaseoilproductsBitumenPitch.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qvGCMQO4gfU/VTvYw8Ct-BI/AAAAAAAAAG8
/ZNe9mQZlRVs/s1600/Polyacrylonitrile%2BFibers.jpg
http://sploid.gizmodo.com/heres-how-much-stronger-carbon-fiber-is
-compared-to-st-1521751435
http://lainfo.es/en/wp-content/uploads/lainfo.es-61694-alva-edison1024x669.jpg