What is carbon cloth? The application of carbon fabric in various fields of activity

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

What is carbon cloth? This is a material that consists of extremely light and strong fibers of a reinforced polymer. At its core, this polymer is a long chain of molecules held together by carbon atoms. Typically, the polymer used to make carbon fabric is ninety percent carbon mixed with ten percent miscellaneous additives.

Products from different manufacturers may differ from each other - depending on the reinforced polymer used in the production and combinations of raw materials. The exact composition of the carbon fabric, as a rule, is not disclosed. After all, this is a trade secret.

Production of carbon cloth

The production of carbon fabric begins with drawing into thin threads of reinforced polymers. Next, the threads obtained in the process of drawing are wound on the bobbins, and then, with the help of special looms, the fabric itself is woven from them. Only five to ten micronseach thread has a diameter and, despite this, it is very strong.

Carbon fabric is arguably the strongest woven material available today.

Application

The use of carbon cloth can be limitless. Where is it applied? Most often it is used where low weight, high conductivity, high strength are required. Due to the fact that carbon fabric can have different qualities, its use largely depends on the composition and class of the fabric. For example, the highest grade of this fiber is used in the aerospace industry.

Construction

In construction, ultra-thin carbon fabric is used in the external reinforcement system. During the repair of load-bearing structures, the use of carbon fabric and epoxy binder makes it possible to carry out reconstruction in a short time and significantly reduces labor costs when compared with traditional methods. Despite the fact that the repair time is reduced several times, the service life of the structure is also increased several times. The bearing function of the structure is not only restored, but also increased several times.

Aviation

What is carbon fabric for in aviation? It is used to create one-piece composite parts, carbon materials are also used. The resulting products, characterized by lightness and strength, make it possible to replace aluminum alloys with carbon fiber. At a weight five times less than aluminum parts, composite parts have greater flexibility, strength, and pressure resistance.

Industry

Also, carbon plastics are used in the nuclear industry to create power reactors, where the main requirement for the materials used is their radiation resistance, resistance to high temperatures and pressure. All these properties carbon fabric has. In addition, special attention in the nuclear industry is given to the strength of external structures, so the fabric is also widely used in the external reinforcement system.

CFRP

Carbon (or carbon fiber) is used in the automotive industry for the production of both individual components and parts, and for entire car bodies. The high strength-to-weight ratio allows manufacturers to create safe and fuel-efficient vehicles: the reduction in vehicle weight due to carbon fiber reduces CO2 emissions by 16%. Since there is a decrease in fuel consumption by several times.

Quite strong positions are occupied by composite materials in the civil aerospace industry. High demands are placed on them by large loads of space flights. Carbon fiber and materials made from it work under conditions of high and low temperatures and pressures, under the influence of radiation, under high vibration loads, etc.

In shipbuilding, carbon fiber reinforced plastics are the best components for designing and creating new materials and structures from them because of their corrosion resistance, high specific strength, non-magnetism, low thermal conductivity and high impact resistance. ChoiceThis particular material is due to the possibility of combining high chemical inertness and strength in it, as well as sound, vibration and radio absorption, which allows it to be used in the manufacture of structures of various types of civil ships.

In world practice, wind energy is one of the most significant areas where carbon material is used. This industry is in its infancy in Russia, although windmills are appearing all over the world: in coastal areas, in uninhabited areas, and on offshore platforms. The unsurpassed strength and lightness of carbon fiber made it possible to create longer blades. In turn, they have become more energy efficient.

CFRPs are also widely used in the railway industry. The strength and lightness of the material contributes to the lightening of the structures of railway cars, which makes it possible, thereby, to reduce the total weight of the train, increase its length, and improve speed characteristics.

Carbon fiber can also be used in the construction of railroad tracks and in the construction of railroad tracks: the length of the wires will increase the high bending strength, which will reduce the number of supports required and, at the same time, reduce the risk of sagging.

Composite materials are intensively included in the habitual way of life of every person. Many consumer goods are created from them: sports equipment and equipment, interior items, household appliances, computers and much more.