Pitch-based carbon fibres

Mochida, I., Yoon, S. H. and Korai, Y., Control of transversal texture in circular mesophase pitch-based carbon fibre using non-circular spinning nozzles, J Mat Sci, 1993,28, 2331 2336. 

Two commercial coal-tar-pitch-based carbon fibres, which were supplied by Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (Osaka, Japan), have been used as starting materials. In the course of their synthesis, these CFs had been carbonised at different temperatures Tc = 1273 K (Donacarbo S-241) and Tc = 973 K (Donacarbo SL-242). The carbon fibres have been chemically activated with KOH and NaOH (Panreac Chemicals, Barcelona, Spain) at 1023 K under a N2 gas flow. More details concerning the activation conditions can be found elsewhere. Two different kinds of furnaces have been used for the activations. For laboratory synthesis a horizontal tube furnace is used which is capable of activating about 2 g of raw fibres per activation process. For the scale-up production approach an industrial chamber furnace is used. Thereby the amount of initial material could be increased by more than one order of magnitude up to 30 g per activation process. 

Alcaniz-Monge J, Cazorla-Amoros D, Linares-Solano A, Yoshida S, and Oya A. Effect of the activating gas on tensile strength and pore structure of pitch-based carbon fibres. Carbon, 1994 32(7) 1277-1283. 

At the beginning of the 1980s, interest became focused on developing ACF by the steam activation of conventional carbon fibres (CF), a fibril material whose main application was to reinforce polymer matrix composites. Poly-aciylo-nitril (PAN) based ACF was first produced by Toho Rayon Co. (Japan). At the end of the 1980s, interest centred on developing ACF from inexpensive precursors such as pitch based carbon fibres. 

M. Endo, Structure of mesophase pitch-based carbon fibres, J. Mater. Sci., 23,598-605 (1988). 

Y. Tanabe, E. Yasuda, A. R. Bunsell, Y. Favry, M. InagakI and M. Sakai, The strength of pitch-based carbon fibre at high temperature, J. Mater. Sci., 26,1601-1604(1991). 

Yoon SH, Takano N, Korai Y, Mochida I, Crack formation in mesophase pitch based carbon fibres. 1. Some influential factors for crack formation, J Mater Sci, 32(10), 2753-2758, 1997. 

Yumitori S, Nakanishi Y, Effect of anodic oxidation of coal tar pitch based carbon fibre on adhesion in epoxy matrix. 2. Comparitive study of three alkaline solutions. Composites Part A—Appl Sci Manuf, 27(11), 1059-1066, 1996. 

Hamada T, Nishida T, Sajiki Y, Furuyama M, Tomioka T, The diameter dependence on magneto-resistance and Le of pitch-based carbon fibres. Extended Absracts 18th Biennual Conf Carbon, 225-226, 1987. 

Table 5.4 Typical properties of continuous pitch-based carbon fibres (based on BP Amoco Thornel grades)...

Thornel pitch-based carbon fibres BP Amoco... 

Kucharska, L, Brandt, A.M., 1997. Pitch-based carbon fibre reinforced cement composites A review. Architecture and Civil Engineering, 43(2), pp. 165-187. 

PAN-based carbon fibres pitch-based carbon fibres 1.7-2.0 1900-7100 230-390... 

In the tests performed by Aydin (2007), a relatively high volume fraction Vf = 2% of hybrid fibres (pitch-based carbon fibres and steel fibres) was used. 

Brandt, A. M., Kucharska, L. (1996) Pitch-based carbon fibre reinforced concretes , in Proc. 4th Materials Engineering Conf, ASCE, Washington, 10-14 November, pp. 271-80. 

The acrylic-based carbon fibres can be engineered to have high modulus (HM) or high tenacity (HT), or a balance between these two properties, and are available in numerous grades. The pitch-based carbon fibres fall into two classes those made from fibres spun from isotropic pitch, which have relatively low strength and modulus, and those... 

A. Briggs, Review carbon fibre reinforced cement , Y. Mate/ Sic/ 12,1977, 384-404. S. Akihama, T. Suenaga and T. Nakagawa, Properties and application of pitch based carbon fibre reinforced concrete , Concr. Int Design and Construction. 10, 1988, 40-47. 

Johnson, D.J., Tomizuka, 1., and Watanabe, O., The Fine Structme of Pitch-Based Carbon Fibres , Carbon, 13, 529-534, 1975. 

A ribbed structure substrate was made by United Technologies Corporation (UTC). Pitch based carbon fibre about 0.12-0.25 mm long was blended with phenolic resin powder and laid on a steel belt for curing in a belt press. This was subsequently graphitized. This thick ribbed substrate (around 2-3 mm) was successfully used in UTCs 40 kw PC-18 power plants. The main purpose for such high thickness was to hold sufficient phosphoric acid and to have the flow fields (the ribbed structure) embedded on the substrate itself. Thus, costly high density graphite plates that were otherwise required for flow field and separator plate can be reduced in thickness for cost efficacy. 

For the pull-out test, a single crystal of Cgo was vapour deposited on high modulus pitch-based carbon fibres (Young s modulus 700 GPa, Tohnen Co. Ltd.) by the above-mentioned method. The fibres have a diameter of 10 m and their surface structure is similar to that of the CNTs. The shear strength of the interface was estimated from the load-displacement (L-D) curve of the pull-out test, which was performed in an Instron-type tensile testing machine (Autograph AGS-D Type 3, Shimadzu) at room temperature with a cross head speed of 0.5 mm/min. 

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