Carbon fiber technology:
Carbon fibers have several advantages including high stiffness, high tensile strength, low weight, high chemical resistance, high temperature tolerance and low thermal expansion. These properties have made carbon fiber very popular in aerospace, civil engineering, military, and motorsports, along with other competition sports.
Application of carbon fiber technology:
1)SPORTING GOODS
Its application in sports goods ranges from the stiffening of running shoes to ice hockey stick, tennis racquets, and golf clubs. ‘Shells’ (hulls for rowing) are built from it, and many lives have been saved on motor racing circuits by its strength and damage tolerance in body structures. It is used in crash helmets too, for rock climbers, horse riders, and motorcyclists – in fact in any sport where there is a danger of head injury.
2)CARBON FIBER IN FLIGHT
Carbon fiber has gone to the moon on spacecraft, but it is also used widely in aircraft components and structures, where its superior strength to weight ratio far exceeds that of any metal. 30% of all carbon fiber is used in the aerospace industry. From helicopters to gliders, fighter jets to microlights, carbon fiber is playing its part, increasing range and simplifying maintenance.
3)MILITARY
The applications in the military are very wide ranging – from planes and missiles to protective helmets, providing strengthening and weight reduction across all military equipment.
It takes energy to move weight – whether it is a soldier’s personal gear or a field hospital, and weight saved means more weight moved per gallon of gas.
4)CARBON FIBER AT HOME
The uses of carbon fiber in the home are as broad as your imagination, whether it is style or practical application.
iPhone cases, pens, and even bow ties – the look of carbon fiber is unique and sexy.
5)MEDICAL APPLICATIONS
Carbon fiber offers several advantages over other materials in the medical field, including the fact that it is ‘radiolucent’ –transparent to X-rays and shows as black on X-ray images.
6)AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY
As costs come down, carbon fiber is being more widely adopted in automobiles. Supercar bodies are built now, but its wider use is likely to be on internal components such as instrument housings, seat frames and bumpers.
