Suntech rapier weaving machine will enter the carbon fiber era in the future with a broad prospect of carbon fiber application
In today's world of high-speed industrialization, the use of carbon fiber is becoming diversified. In applications requiring high temperature and high physical stability, carbon fiber composites have irreplaceable advantages. The higher the specific strength of the material, the lower the self-weight of the component, and the higher the specific modulus, the greater the stiffness of the component.(Suntech)
Application direction of carbon fiber
1. Composites
In addition to the traditional use of carbon fiber as thermal insulation material, it is mostly used as reinforcing material added to resin, metal, ceramic, concrete, and other materials to form composite materials. Carbon fiber has become the most important reinforcing material for advanced composite materials. Since carbon fiber composites are light and strong, light and rigid, high-temperature resistant, corrosion-resistant, fatigue resistant, good structural dimensional stability and good design, a large area can be integrally formed, etc., they have been widely used in various fields of aerospace, defense, and civil industry.
Carbon fibers can be processed into fabrics, mats, mats, tapes, paper, and other materials. High-performance carbon fiber is the most important reinforcing material for manufacturing advanced composite materials.
2. Civil engineering and construction
Carbon fiber is also used in industrial and civil buildings, railroad-highway bridges, tunnels, chimneys, tower structures, etc. Reinforcement and reinforcement in railroad buildings, large top systems, and sound insulation walls will have good applications in the future, and these will also be promising application aspects of carbon fiber. It has the characteristics of low density, high strength, good durability, strong corrosion resistance, resistance to acid, alkali, and other chemicals, good flexibility, and strong strain capacity. The truss beam framed roof made of carbon fiber tube is about 50% lighter than steel, which makes the large structure reach the practical level, and the construction efficiency and seismic performance are greatly improved. In addition, carbon fiber does not require additional bolts and rivets to fix the reinforced concrete structure, which is less disturbing to the original concrete structure, and the construction process is simple.
3. Aerospace
Carbon fiber is an essential strategic base material for rockets, satellites, missiles, fighter planes, and ships, and other sophisticated weaponry. The application of carbon fiber composite materials in the strategic missile body and engine casing can greatly reduce the weight and improve the range and surprise ability of the missile, such as the United States in the 1980s the development of intercontinental missile three-stage shell all use carbon fiber and epoxy resin composite materials. Carbon fiber composite materials in a new generation of fighter aircraft also began to be used in large quantities.
Carbon fiber is also the perfect material to make large civil aircraft, automobiles, high-speed trains, and other modern vehicles "lighter". The demand for carbon fiber in aviation applications is increasing, with the new generation of large civil airliners, the Airbus A380 and Boeing 787, using about 50% carbon fiber composites. The Boeing 787's fuselage is made of carbon fiber, which allows the aircraft to fly faster and consume less fuel while increasing cabin humidity and making passengers more comfortable.
4. Automotive Materials
Carbon fiber material has also become a material favored by automobile manufacturers and is beginning to be used in large numbers in the interior and exterior trim of automobiles. The biggest advantage of carbon fiber as an automotive material is its lightweight and high strength, which is only 20% to 30% of the weight of steel, but more than 10 times the hardness of steel. Therefore, the use of carbon fiber materials in automobile manufacturing can make a breakthrough in the lightweight of automobiles and bring social benefits of energy-saving. The industry believes that the use of carbon fiber in automobile manufacturing will become larger.
Take carbon fiber small car as an example, in the ordinary material car hood, the hammer hit hard, the paint cover is likely to have a dent, while the car shell of this car is very strong, hard knock on the cover will be swiftly rebound, the surface is not damaged in any way. Researchers said the use of carbon fiber composites to do the car, compared to the ordinary car made of steel's biggest feature is light and fast. Carbon fiber cars abandoned the traditional steel structure, a large number of carbon fiber material made, then the weight of ordinary steel car can be reduced by 60%. With the same fuel consumption, this car can drive 50 km per hour more.
Although carbon fiber is light, it has better safety. Although carbon fiber looks like plastic, this material is more impact resistant than steel, especially the steering wheel made of carbon fiber, which has higher mechanical strength and impact resistance. With the cooperation of composite materials, the carbon fiber car becomes an armored car in the family car.
5. Fiber reinforcement
Carbon fiber reinforcement includes two kinds of carbon fiber cloth reinforcement and carbon fiber plate reinforcement. The research of carbon fiber material for concrete structure reinforcement and repair began in the 80s in the United States, Japan, and other developed countries. China's technology started very late, but with the rapid development of China's economic construction and transportation, a considerable part of the existing buildings due to the low design load standards caused by the historical legacy of the problem, some buildings due to changes in the use of function, it is difficult to meet the needs of the current specifications, the urgent need for repair, reinforcement. There are many commonly used reinforcement methods, such as: increasing the cross-section method, external clad steel reinforcement method, adhesive steel reinforcement method, carbon fiber reinforcement method, etc. Carbon fiber reinforcement repair structure technology is another new type of structural reinforcement technology after increasing the concrete cross-section and adhesive steel.
6. Sporting goods
Carbon fiber is used in the field of sports and leisure, such as ball bats, fishing rods, tennis rackets, badminton rackets, bicycles, ski poles, skis, windsurfing masts, sailing hulls, and other sporting goods are one of the main users of carbon fiber.
Bat and racket frames are important manifestations in sports applications. It is estimated that 34 million pairs of bats are produced each year. Forty percent of the world's bats are made of carbon fiber. The market volume for tennis racket frames is about 6 million pairs per year, and other sports applications include hockey sticks, ski poles, etc. Carbon fiber is also used in other marine sports such as boating and rowing.
7. Wind turbine blades
The world's wind turbine generator rated power is getting bigger and bigger, and its corresponding wind turbine blade size is also getting bigger and bigger. To reduce the deformation of the blade, the main multiplier parts such as bearings and some parts of the blade use carbon fiber to supplement its stiffness. Carbon fiber also has a broad application prospect in new energy fields such as wind, nuclear and solar energy. When the wind turbine power exceeds 3MW and the blade length exceeds 40 meters, the performance of traditional glass fiber composite material has tended to the limit, using carbon fiber composite material to manufacture the blade is a necessary choice. Only carbon fiber can not only reduce the weight of the blade but also meet the requirements of strength and stiffness.
Carbon fiber is likely to become the mainstream fiber material in the future due to its stable performance and superior strength and stiffness. carbon fiber cloth has also become a trend in the textile industry, especially suitable for dealing with the increase in the user load of buildings, change in the use function of the project, aging of materials, concrete strength level lower than the design value, structural crack treatment, harsh environment service member repair, protection of reinforcement projects. Suntech is keeping pace with the times, and is conducting in-depth research on carbon fiber fabric weaving, and will use intelligent textile machinery to fully produce carbon fiber fabric in the future.（try suntech weaving fabric machine）
