Carbon-fiber composites industry

Graphite Carbon Manufacturing Aerospace Industrial Composites Fuel Cell Components Carbon Fibers Composite Materials Fine-Grain Graphites Wind Turbine Blades... 

As described by DuPont researchers, significant weight saving and low flammability are the primary driving forces behind the adoption of Kevlar by the aircraft industry. Kevlar-epoxy composites are 25-50% lighter than those from glass and aluminum and have better tensile properties. Because thermotropic LCPs offer a low viscosity for the impregnation of carbon fibers and excellent chemical resistance, LCP-carbon fiber composite has been developed as a secondary composite for the aerospace industry [6]. 

While the overall growth of composites in the aerospace industry is continuing, epoxy has been facing stiff competition from other materials and the growth rate has been relatively small (2% annually). While epoxies are still used in many exterior aircraft parts, carbon fiber composites based on bismaleimide and cyanate esters have shown better temperature and moisture resistance than epoxies in military aircaft applications. In the commercial aircraft arena, phenolic composites are now preferred for interior applications because of their lower heat release and smoke generation properties during fires. High performance thermoplastics, such as polysulfone, polyimides, and polyetherether ketone (PEEK), have also foimd some uses in aerospace composites. 

Apart from these properties, the exeellent barrier eapability to moisture and gases of polymeric nanocomposites has shown significant potential in civil engineering applications [34—36]. It was reported that the construction industry will be one of the major potential consumers of nanostructured materials [37]. A substantial decrease in moisture permeability was reported in polyamide nanoclay composites with water absorption rate reduced by 40% in comparison to neat polymer [38]. An 80% decrease in water absorption was reported for poly (e-caprolactone) nanoclay composites [39]. Hackman and Hollaway studied the potential appheations of clay nanocomposite materials to civil engineering structures. They eoncluded that their ability to increase the service life of materials subjected to aggressive environments could be utilized to increase the durability of glass and carbon fiber composites [34]. 

The development of carbon-fiber composites has been rapid in the last twenty years and the industry is now of considerable size and diversity. 1 1 In 1991, the worldwide market for these composites was estimated at approximately 700 million, divided into the following sectors, each shown with its approximate share of the business ... 

Carbon-fiber composites are found in many new structural applications such as racing cars, fishing poles, tennis rackets, competition skis, and sailboat spars. However, their greatest impact is in the aerospace industry with applications in the space shuttle, advanced passenger airplanes, aircraft brakes, and many others. 

The introduction of carbon-fiber composites has been slower in other areas such as the automotive industry where cost is a major factor and weight is not as critical as it is in aerospace applications. 

Today, carbon fibers are still mainly of interest as reinforcement in composite materials [7] where high strength and stiffness, combined with low weight, are required. For example, the world-wide consumption of carbon fibers in 1993 was 7,300 t (compared with a production capacity of 13,000 t) of which 36 % was used in aerospace applications, 43 % in sports materials, with the remaining 21 % being used in other industries. This consumption appears to have increased rapidly (at 15 % per year since the early 1980s), at about the same rate as production, accompanied by a marked decrease in fiber cost (especially for high modulus fibers). 

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