carbon fiber manufacturing method and its advantages and disadvantages

1. CARBON FIBER AND ITS
FEATURES
Submitted to: Submitted by:
Prof. Sarbjit Singh Deepanshu
18209025

2. CARBON FIBRE
• Carbon fiber is defined as a fiber containing at least 92 wt % carbon, while the
fiber containing at least 99 wt % carbon is usually called a graphite fiber.
• It is a material consisting of several fibers and composed mostly of carbon
atoms.
• Each fiber is about 5 – 10 μm thick in diameter.
• The crystal alignment gives the fiber high strength- to-volume ratio.
• Carbon fibers are usually combined with other materials to form a composite.
• When combined with a plastic resin and wound or molded it forms carbon
fiber reinforced plastic.

3. HISTORY
• Carbon fibers were developed in the 1950s as a reinforcement for
high-temperature molded plastic components on missiles.
• Firstly manufactured by Dr. Roger Bacon.
• The first fibers were manufactured by heating strands of rayon until
they carbonized .
• This process proved to be inefficient, as the resulting fibers contained
only about 20% carbon and had low strength and stiffness properties.

4. Structure of Carbon fibre

5. MANUFACTURING PROCESS
• In the manufacturing process, the raw materials, which are called
precursors, are drawn into long strands or fibers. The fibers are woven
into fabric or combined with other materials that are filament wound or
molded into desired shapes and sizes.
There are typically five segments in the manufacturing of carbon fibers
from the PAN process. These are:
• Spinning. PAN mixed with other ingredients and spun into fibers,
which are washed and stretched.
• Stabilizing. Chemical alteration to stabilize bonding.
• Carbonizing. Stabilized fibers heated to very high temperature forming
tightly bonded carbon crystals.

6. • Treating the Surface of fibers i.e. fibers are oxidized to improve
bonding properties.
• Sizing. Fibers are coated and wound onto roll, which are loaded
onto spinning machines that twist the fibers into different size yarns.
To form composite materials, heat, pressure, or a vacuum binds
fibers together with a plastic polymer.

7. Making Carbon fibre

9. STRENGTH
• It needs to be understood that all carbon fiber is not equal. When the
carbon is manufactured into fibers, special additives and elements are
introduced to increase strength properties.
• Carbon is manufactured into tiny fibers through either the PAN or Pitch
process.
• The carbon is manufactured in bundles of thousands of tiny filaments, and
wound onto a roll.
• There are three major categories of raw carbon fiber
• High Modulus Carbon Fiber (Aerospace Grade)
• Intermediate Modulus Carbon Fiber
• Standard Modulus Carbon Fiber (Commercial Grade)

10. Carbon Fiber Vs Steel
• Carbon Fiber is actually 5 times stronger than steel. It is also 2 times
more stiffness.
• This material has a really very strength-to weight ratio, which makes
it great for almost anything that requires high strength and low
weight.
• They also are highly chemically resistant and have high temperature
tolerance with low thermal expansion.

11. Manufacturing Challenges
• The manufacturing of carbon fibers carries a number of challenges,
including:
• The need for more cost effective recovery and repair.
• Close control required to ensure consistent quality.
• Health and safety issues
• Skin irritation
• Breathing irritation

12. Advantages
• It has the greatest compressive strength of all reinforcing materials.
• Long service life.
• Low coefficient of thermal expansion.
• Its density is much lower than the density of steel.
• Exhibit properties better than any other metal.
• Insensitive to temperature changes.

13. Disadvantages
• The main disadvantage of carbon fiber is its cost.
• This fiber will cause some forms of cancer of the lungs.
Applications
• Portable power.
• Rechargeable batteries and fuel cell electrodes.
• Fiber reinforced plastics, FRP.
• Energy production; windmill blades.
• Building and construction materials.
• Aerospace and Aircraft Industry, Sports equipments, Automotive parts.

14. Carbon Fiber’s Future
• The future efforts on carbon fiber research will be focused on cost reduction
and property improvement.
• The mechanical property of carbon fiber heavily relies on its microstructure.
• The improvement on the tensile, flexural, and shear strength of pitch carbon
fibers has been observed by randomizing the graphite distribution in the fiber
transverse direction.
• Alternate Energy: Wind turbines, compressed natural gas storage and
transportation fuel cells.
• Fuel Efficient Automobiles: Moving towards large production series cars
• Construction Infrastructure: Light weight pre-cast concrete, earthquake
protection