Carbon fibre—reinforced composites CFRP

Enhancement ratios of carbon fibres versus glass fibres. The data used here are the ratios of a property for a carbon fibre reinforced composite (CFRP) versus the same property for the glass fibre reinforced composite (GFRP). 

Airbus A380 structure uses 25 % of advanced composites. Carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) are used for about 22% of the airframe. 

A380. Boeing has preferred to use fibre-reinforced composites, such as carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP), in its aircraft — a notable example being the 787. 

Chen WC, Some experimental investigations in the drilling of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (cfrp) composite laminates, Int J Machine Tools Mamif, 37(8), 1097-1108, 1997. 

Figure 6.10c SEM photographs of the fracture surfaces of epoxy/HBP blend (15 wt% HBP) in carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) form. Reprinted with permission from D. Ratna, Composites A, 2008, 39, 462. 2008, Elsevier...

Loos (2011) reported that investigators from Bayer Material Science LLC, USA and Moulded Fibre Glass, Cleveland, USA have developed a prototype wind turbine blade 0.74 m long manufactured from polyurethane reinforced with carbon nanotubes (CNT PU). The researchers claim that the advanced material has a specific tensile strength five times and 60 times that of carbon fibre composite and aluminium, respectively, and is tougher than carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) but the excellent properties of these materials come with a price penalty. 

In contrast, carbon fibres are inert under normal service temperatures they are usually considered insensitive to moisture and only little affected by alkaline environments. Therefore, apparent degradations of carbon fibre-reinforced composite are in general exclusively due to the interaction between the matrix and the environment. Besides, it is of note that galvanic corrosion may occur if CFRP composites are adventitiously placed in contact with metal elements, which usually contributes to accelerated corrosion of the metal components (Tavakkolizadeh and Saadatmanesh, 2001). 

Yapa, H. D. and Lees, J. M. (2009), Optimum shear strengthening of reinforced concrete beams with prestressed carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) straps . Proceedings of the 4th Advanced Composites in Construction (ACIC 09), eds S. Halliwell and C. Whysall, NetComposites, pp. 214-226. 

This paper should not end without giving some information on present and future applications of this anisotropic polymer carbon. In space technology, carbon fibre reinforced composites are the unique structural material. In aircraft industry all military planes make use of this revolutionary material. Fig. 26 shows the model of a future fighter which combines wings and stabilizers in one structural element. The whole structure consists of advanced composites. Only small parts, i.e. the engines are still made from metals. In today s commercial aircrafts only secondary and tertiary parts are made from CFRP, as shown in fig. 27. There is... 

The laminate composites of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) and Carbon Fiber Reinforced Carbon (CFRC) show a very high strength and a ductile behaviour compared to brittle materials and have a low density. CFRC composites are especially suitable for high temperature applications. Therefore they are very important to aerospace technology. A single lamina of CFRP or CFRC may be considered to be homogeneous and anisotropic. The composite consists of a stack of such plies. Since each ply may have a different orientation and/or elastic moduli, the composite as a whole must be treated as an inhomogeneous anisotropic material. 

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