Group Members

Muhammad Sajjad BSME 01113138

Tanzeel-ur-Rehman BSME 01113007
Ali Raza Akhtar BSME 01113076
Hafiz M. Usman BSME 01113057
Carbon Fiber
What is Carbon Fiber?
 Carbon Fiber
 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.
 Carbon Fiber

o The crystal alignment gives the fiber high

strength- to-volume ratio.
o Carbon fibers are usually combined with other
materials to form a composite.
o When combined with a plastic resin and wound
or molded it forms carbon fiber reinforced plastic.
 Carbon Fiber
o Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic has a very
high strength-to-weight ratio, and is extremely
rigid and brittle.
o Carbon Fibers are also composed with other
materials, such as with graphite to form carbon-
carbon composites, which have a very high heat
tolerance.
 History
o Carbon fibers were developed in the 1950s as a
reinforcement for high-temperature molded
plastic components on missiles.
o Firstly manufactured by Dr. Roger Bacon.
o The first fibers were manufactured by heating
strands of rayon until they carbonized.
 History

 This process proved to be inefficient, as the

resulting fibers contained only about 20% carbon

and had low strength and stiffness properties.

 Carbon Fiber Vs Steel

 Carbon Fiber is actually 5 times stronger

than steel. It is also 2 times more stiff. This
material has a really very strength-to-
weight ratio, which makes it great for
almost anything that requires high strength
and low weight.
 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.
Manufacturing of Carbon Fibers
 Carbon fiber is currently produced in relatively limited
quantities mostly via two manufacturing processes:
 Based on pitch (coal tar and petroleum products)
 Based on Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)
o Current global capacity for pitch-based carbon fiber is
estimated at about 3,500 metric tons per year.
 Global use for PAN-based carbon fiber is increasing rapidly,
and total production capacity currently does not meet the
demand.
 PAN-based carbon fiber is more expensive to produce, hence,
limiting its use to high end applications, (used primarily by
aerospace and sporting equipment industries).
 Manufacturing Process
 In the manufacturing process, the raw material,
which is called precursor, is drawn into long
strands or fibers. The fibers are woven into fabric
or combined with other materials that are molded
into desired shapes and sizes.
 There are typically five segments in the
manufacturing of carbon fibers from the PAN
process. These are:
1)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.
Treating the Surface:
Surface of fibers oxidized to improve bonding
properties.
Sizing:
Fibers are coated and wound onto bobbins,
which are loaded onto spinning machines that
twist the fibers into different size yarns.
Instead of being woven into fabrics, fibers may
be formed into composites. To form composite
materials, heat, pressure, or a vacuum binds
fibers together with a plastic polymer.
Manufacturing process
 Structure
 The atomic structure of carbon fiber is similar to
that of graphite, consisting of sheets of
carbon atoms arranged in a regular hexagonal
pattern.
 Graphite is a crystalline material in which the sheets
are stacked parallel to one another in regular
fashion.
o A 6 μm diameter carbon filament compared to a
human hair.
 Properties
 High tensile strength.
 Low thermal expansion.
 Electrically and thermally conductive.
 Light weight and low density.
 High abrasion and wear resistance.
 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
 Disadvantages

 The main disadvantage of carbon fiber is its cost.

 This fiber will cause some forms of cancer of the
lungs.
 Applications

 Aerospace and Aircraft Industry.

 Sports equipments.
 Automotive parts.
 Acoustics.
 Civil Engineering.
 Applications

 Portable power.
 Rechargeable batteries and fuel cell
electrodes.
 Fiber reinforced plastics, FRP.
 Energy production; windmill blades.
 Building and construction materials.
 Applications

Air Craft Car Parts

 Applications

Musical Instruments Mobile Case

 Applications

Wind Turbine Blades Helmets

Fabric made of woven carbon filaments.
 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.
 Carbon Fiber’s Future

 Alternate Energy:

Wind turbines, compressed natural gas storage and

transportation fuel cells.
 Fuel Efficient Automobiles:

Moving towards large production series cars.

 Carbon Fiber’s Future
 Construction Infrastructure:

Light weight pre-cast concrete, earthquake

protection.
 Oil Exploration:

Deep sea drilling platforms, choke and drill

pipes.
 Conclusion
 It revolutionized the field of light weight
materials.
 The new substitute for metals.
 In short it is the future manufacturing
material.
ThAnK Y0U
Any
Question???