Advantages
Improvement of Carbon Fiber
Carbon fiber is the lightest and strongest per weight material known. It is one-half the weight of aluminum with three times the strength. Carbon fiber is extremely versatile and well suited for applications where stiffness and low weight are required. Carbon fiber allows a designer virtually unlimited ability to build parts with stiffness and strength that far exceeds aluminum, steel, and even titanium.
In 1958, Roger Bacon created high-performance carbon fibers at the Union Carbide Parma Technical Center, now GrafTech International Holdings, Inc., located outside of Cleveland, Ohio.[3] Those 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.
Carbon fiber is important peice of history because its lightweight and strong which has enabled us to enhance products in all feilds of research.
Invention of Carbon Fiber
Uses of carbon fiber
Mass produced automobiles are not yet adopting carbon fiber; this is because the increased raw material cost and necessary changes in tooling, still outweighs the benefits. However, Formula 1, NASCAR, and high end cars are using carbon fiber. In many cases, it is not because of the benefits of properties or weight, but because of the look.
In 1879, Thomas Edison baked cotton threads or bamboo slivers at high temperatures carbonizing them into an all-carbon fiber filament used in the first incandescent light bulb to be heated by electricity.[1] In 1880, Lewis Latimer developed a reliable carbon wire filament for the incandescent light bulb, heated by electricity.
The raw material used to make carbon fiber is called the precursor. About 90% of the carbon fibers produced are made from polyacrylonitrile (PAN). The remaining 10% are made from rayon or petroleum pitch.
Invention of Carbon Fiber