Carbon fiber Electrical conductivity

Electrical Hazards. Because carbon fibers are conductive, the airborne filaments can create serious problems shorting out electrical equipment. The best option is to locate sensitive equipment in clean rooms outside of areas where carbon fiber is being processed. If this is not possible, electrical cabinets must be effectively sealed to prevent contact with carbon fibers. A filtered air-positive purge provides additional protection for sensitive equipment. 

Reasons for use abrasion resistance, cost reduction, electric conductivity (metal fibers, carbon fibers, carbon black), EMI shielding (metal and carbon fibers), electric resistivity (mica), flame retarding properties (aluminum hydroxide, antimony trioxide, magnesium hydroxide), impact resistance improvement (small particle size calcium carbonate), improvement of radiation stability (zeolite), increase of density, increase of flexural modulus, impact strength, and stiffness (talc), nucleating agent for bubble formation, permeability (mica), smoke suppression (magnesium hydroxide), thermal stabilization (calcium carbonate), wear resistance (aluminum oxide, silica carbide, wollastonite)... 

Process. Any standard precursor material can be used, but the preferred material is wet spun Courtaulds special acrylic fiber (SAF), oxidized by RK Carbon Fibers Co. to form 6K Panox B oxidized polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber (OPF). This OPF is treated ia a nitrogen atmosphere at 450—750°C, preferably 525—595°C, to give fibers having between 69—70% C, 19% N density less than 2.5 g/mL and a specific resistivity under 10 ° ohm-cm. If crimp is desired, the fibers are first knit iato a sock before heat treating and then de-knit. Controlled carbonization of precursor filaments results ia a linear Dow fiber (LDF), whereas controlled carbonization of knit precursor fibers results ia a curly carbonaceous fiber (EDF). At higher carbonizing temperatures of 1000—1400°C the fibers become electrically conductive (22). 

Excellent insulating properties, along with the abiUty to be stmctural components, make plastics the ideal candidate materials for electrical appHcations. Although generally used as insulators, carbon black or carbon fiber can be added to make plastic materials electrically conductive, thereby expanding their usefulness in the electronics area. 

Fig. 8. Comparison of electrical and thermal conductivity of PAN- and pitch-based carbon fiber to metals, where P = pitch, T = Thornel, and...

Pitch-based fibers generally have higher moduh but lower strengths than theh PAN-based counterparts. The specific properties of the various types of carbon fibers are compared in Figure 4. Pitch-based fibers also have higher electrical conductivity, which can be an important consideration in certain circumstances, for example, for use in electromagnetic inductance (EMI) shielding. 

Epoxy, polyester, phenolic and other resins are used as coatings and linings with or without reinforcement. Glass fiber, silica, carbon and many other materials can be used as filters or reinforcement to produce materials with specific properties of strength, flexibility, wear resistance and electrical conductivity. 

Reduced Wear Electrical Conductivity Glass fibers Carbon fibers Lubricating additives Carbon fibers Carbon powders Ductility, cost Tensile strength, ductility, cost Ductility, cost Tensile strength, ductility, cost... 

Jana, P.B., Mallick, A.K., and De, S.K., Electrically conductive rubber and plastic composites with carbon particles or conductive fibres, in Short Fiber-Polymer Composites, De, S.K. and White, J.R. (Eds.), Woodhead Publishing, Cambridge, 1996, Chapter 7. 

In addition to glass fibers, PBT can also be reinforced with carbon fibers. Many of the general trends seen with glass fibers are also observed with carbon fibers. One important aspect of carbon fibers is that they may bring electrical conductivity to PBT if sufficient fiber connectivity is achieved in the final part. Metal fibers and metal-coated carbon fibers have also been compounded with PBT, giving not only improved mechanical properties but also molded parts with enhanced ability to shield components from electromotive and radiofrequency interference (EMI-RFI) [33],... 

Schmitz et al. [184] tested various carbon fiber papers with different thicknesses as cathode DLs in PEM fuel cells. It was observed that the cell resistance dropped when the thickness of the DL increased thus, thicker materials are desired in order to improve the electrical conductivity. It was also mentioned that the optimal thickness for the DL is usually between the thinnest and the thickest materials because the two extremes give the lowest performance. In fact, in thin DLs, the water produced can fill pores within the material, resulting in flooding and the blockage of available flow paths for the oxygen. Similarly, Lin and Nguyen [108] concluded that thinner DLs (without MPLs) were more prone to liquid water accumulation than thicker ones. 

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