Zone: Carbon Fiber

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Carbon fiber reclamation: Going commercial
2/4/2010 Composites Technology: As the first commercial-scale carbon fiber recycling operations go online, research continues into both recycling alternatives and applications for recyclate.
DDG-1000 Zumwalt: Stealth warship
1/18/2010 Composites Technology: U.S. Navy navigates radar transparency, cost and weight challenges with composite superstructure design.
Corvette's carbon hood creates shock and awe
7/20/2009 Composites Technology: North America’s first mass-produced, all-CFRP hood raises the bar for production sports cars.
Supply and demand: Advanced fibers
1/8/2009 Composites Technology: Manufacturers of carbon and other advanced fibers respond to sustained composites industry growth with new fiber production capacity.
Composites: Materials and processes
1/8/2009 Composites Technology: High strength and low weight remain the winning combination that propels composite materials into new arenas, but other properties —vibrational damping and low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), fatigue resistance are jsut as appealing. Moreover, the potential for significant parts consolidation provides design/fabrication flexibility that can translate into a finished product that requires less raw material, fewer joints and fasteners and shorter assembly time.

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Overview Of:
Carbon Fiber

Carbon fiber — by far the most widely used fiber in high-performance applications — is produced from a variety of precursors, including polyacrylonitrile (PAN), rayon and pitch. The precursor fibers are heated and stretched to create the high-strength fibers. The first high-performance carbon fibers on the market were made from rayon precursor. PAN- and pitch-based fiber have replaced rayon-based fiber in most applications, but the latter’s “dogbone” cross-section often makes it the fiber of choice for carbon/carbon (C/C) composites. PAN-based carbon fibers are the most versatile and widely used. They offer an amazing range of properties, including excellent strength — to 1,000 ksi — and high stiffness. Pitch fibers, made from petroleum or coal tar pitches, have high to extremely high stiffness and low to negative axial CTE. Their CTE properties are especially useful in spacecraft applications that require thermal management, such as electronic instrumentation housings. Although they are stronger than glass or aramid fibers, carbon fibers are not only less impact-resistant but also can experience galvanic corrosion in contact with metal. Fabricators overcome the latter problem by using a barrier material or veil ply — often fiberglass/epoxy — during laminate layup.