Carbon Fibre - The Future Material

Carbon fiber comes in two Weaves: 1 . Unidirectional (all fibers are parallel):  In a 0-degree orientation, aligned with the fibers, unidirectional (UD) carbon fiber provides high bending strength against the progression of forces, which makes it perfect for the carbon-fiber prosthetic blades used by Paralympic sprinters. In a 90-degree orientation, perpendicular to the fibers, it flexes. In either orientation, it has low torsional strength. In all applications, another layer of fabric, such as Perlon, must be laid under and over UD carbon-fiber weave. 2. Bidirectional (fibers cross at a 90-degree angle):  In a 0-degree or a 90-degree orientation, bidirectional carbon fiber features medium bending strength and medium torsional strength. At a 45-degree orientation, it is more flexible and has high torsional strength, which are just the right properties for a transfemoral socket, for example. You can even tailor the composite's properties with fiber length, the type of weave...

HISTORY OF CARBON FIBER  Carbon fiber dates back to 1879. Inventor Thomas Edison used carbon fibers as filaments for early light bulbs (Hegde, 2004). Although these fibers lacked the tensile strength of today's carbon fibers, their considerable tolerance to heat made these fibers ideal for conducting electricity. Edison’s carbon fibers were made out of cellulose-based materials, such as cotton or bamboo, unlike the petroleum-based precursors used today. Carbonization took place by baking bamboo filaments at high temperatures in a controlled atmosphere. This is a method known as "pyrolysis," which is still used today. The resulting carbonized bamboo filaments were fire-resistant and capable of enduring the intense heat needed for incandescence. It wasn't until the late 1950's that high tensile strength carbon fibers were discovered. Rayon became the first precursor used to create these modern fibers. Ultimately, it was replaced by more effective materials such  as ...

INTRODUCTION OF CARBON FIBER   What is carbon fiber made of  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, unit-directional, weaves, braids, and several others, which are in turn used to create composite parts. The properties of a carbon fiber part are close to that of steel and the weight is close to that of plastic. Thus the strength to weight ratio (as well as stiffness to weight ratio) of a carbon fiber part is much higher than either steel or plastic. 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 perfo...