KING SWAN

ENGINEERING
Date

Composites
Carbon Fibre

The industrial global now is full of materials or composites that contribute strongly to
improve the quality and strength of the devices on all industries , and this can be
increase the time period of it to be high efficiency
And more comfortable for the manufacturers then the users .
So, Priefly this report will discuss some important points about composites .
This report discusses the composite materials and specially carbon fibre reinforced
polymer and put it into comparing between other traditional metallic composites .
There is many issues that the report concentrate on it, like the advantages of carbon
fibre and how it so common at so much industries now

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 Composites Composite is a thing made up of several parts or
elements.

Carbon Fibre

01 Composites 1. Composites
A composite material is composed primarily of a matrix, i.e. a continuous phase,
Carbon fibre
which is armoured with a reinforcement (reinforcement is a secondary phase),
composites
compared with which is usually the discontinuous phase.
traditional
02 metallic
Fig 1
materials.
The Competitive
Nature of Composite

Composites in
the Automotive
03 Industry
Matrix Reinforcement

Metal Macromolecular Particle( Dispersion ) Fibres

Skeleton
Mineral

Botumen Natural fibres Glass fibres

Ceramic
Grafit and Carbon
Polymer Polymer Fibres
Fibres

Based on inorganic
binders

Ceramic Fibres Metal Fibres

Glass
Whiskers (
Fibre'monocrystals )

FFfF

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Fibre Reinforcement :
Fibers are bigger than the same compact (dense/thick) materials.
Fibre strength depends mainly on its cross-section.

When decreasing cross-section the fibre strength increases (due to applying the strengthening processes
that depending on the degree of deformation). Fibers usually have a shape of circular cross-section and a
diameter in a variety range.

Fig 2

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 Polymeric fibers

Fig 3 Fig 4
Polymeric fibers are usually designed for polymeric matrices.
The disadvantage of the polymeric fibers is higher temperature sensitivity, else their poor wettability.
That due to the low surface energy of the fibers and therefore they require modification of the surface
(surface treatment).

The basic properties of polymer fibers:

 low density

 medium-high strength

 low stiffness

 the negative coefficient of thermal expansion

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2. Carbon fibre composites compared with traditional metallic materials.

Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer

Fig 5
Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) is a composite Polymer matrix reinforced with carbon fibres, which
are very strong and light. In CFRP the reinforcement material is carbon fibre that provides the strength. The
matrix is commonly a polymer resin like epoxy, which binds the reinforcement together.
Thus, the CFRP is a combination of extremely thin carbon fibres of 5-10µm in diameter, embedded in
polyester resin .

Fig 6 Fig 7

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 Advantages of Carbon fibres
Carbon fiber is so strong :
The carbon atoms are bonded together in crystals that are more or less
aligned parallel to the long axis of the fiber as the crystal alignment gives the fiber high strength-to-
volume ratio (making it strong for its size), that is to produce a carbon fiber,

And when combined with resin to form a composite, it produces parts that are extremely light and
rigid. Carbon parts are more light and stronge than their metal counterparts. For that reason, carbon
fiber is being used extensively in the race car industry.

Carbon fiber is a flexible fabric like material that, when combined with a polymer, can be molded into the
shape of a car part that is stronger and lighter than today's steel and aluminum parts. The higher cost is
based on the fiber material itself, as well as longer production times .

It’s applications
Carbon fibre used in military aircraft and space craft and offer great potential in reducing vehicle weight ,
thus increasing fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions .

Other applications

Fig 8
The fire resistance of polymers and thermo-set composites is significantly improved if a thin layer of carbon
fibers is moulded near the surface because a dense, compact layer of carbon fibers efficiently reflects heat.
CFRP is also finding application in an increasing number of high-end products that require stiffness and low
weight, these include:

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- Musical instruments, including violin bows, guitar picks and pick-guards, drum shells, bagpipe chanters and
entire musical instruments such as carbon fiber cellos, violas and violins; and Blackbird Guitars' acoustic guitars
and ukuleles, also audio components such as turntables and loudspeakers.

- High-performance drone bodies and other radio-controlled vehicle and aircraft components such as helicopter
rotor blades.

- Lightweight poles such as: tripod legs, tent poles, fishing rods, billiards cues, walking sticks and high reach poles
such as for window cleaning.

- Dentistry, carbon fiber posts are used in restoring root canal treated teeth.

- Railed train bogies for passenger service. This reduces the weight by up to 50% compared to metal bogies,
which contributes to energy savings.

- Laptop shells and other high performance cases.

The effect of the high production rates required for many standard classes of vehicles on the use
of the such composite materials with respect to their processing characteristics when such
materials are supplied in the form of pre-preg that must be vacuum bagged and autoclave
moulded 30%

Composites and fibers production

During production it is necessary to ensure the following conditions in particular:

 the distribution of the reinforcing phase in the volume is even

 the possibility of putting(in) layers with a random orientation of fibers

 a good connection of reinforcement and/with a matrix

 the possibility of changing the volume of the reinforcement

 the possibility of heat treatment after production

 the simplicity and effectiveness of production

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 Fig 9

Production of fiber composites

The main problem is to insert the fibers into the matrix and avoiding mechanical damage and to maintain the
uniform distribution and directionality . Fibers may be relatively easy to break (mechanically) during each
manipulation, especially non-metallic fibers (glass, ceramics) are sensitive as their strength depends greatly on the
surface integrity. With fiber bundles we need to ensure wetting of each fiber .

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Production of carbon fiber

Fig 10
Carbon fibers are protected against abrasion (they are more fragile than glass, and in order to reduce adsorption
of the gases on their surfaces) by using polymeric coatings. It is also necessary to increase surface reactivity
towards binding agents, of the matrix and therefore it is necessary to roughen the surface of the fibers by
etching for example

Prepreg Production Processes

Prepreg is the composite industry’s term for continuous fiber reinforcement preimpregnated with a polymer resin that is

only partially cured.This material is delivered in tape form to the manufacturer, who then directly molds and fully cures the

product without having to add any resin. It is probably the composite material form most widely used for structural

applications. The prepregging process, represented schematically for thermoset polymers in Figure 16.14, begins by

collimating a series of spool-wound continuous fiber tows. These tows are then sandwiched and pressed between sheets of

release and carrier paper using heated rollers, a process termed “calendering.” The release paper sheet has been coated

with a thin film of heated resin solution of relatively low viscosity so as to provide for its thorough impregnation of the

fibers.A “doctor blade” spreads the resin into a film of uniform thickness and width.

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 Vacuum bagging

Fig 11

Fig 12

For simple parts that need less copies a round 1 or 2 daily , a vacuum bag can be used. a
Carbon fiber is polished and candles, and has a release agent before applied
the fabric and resin are applied, the vacuum is pulled and set aside to allow the piece to cure (harden). There
are three ways to apply the resin to the fabric in a vacuum mold.
The first method is the manual method called a wet drop, where the two-part resin is mixed and applied before
placing it in the mold and put it in the bag. The other is made by infusion, where dry tissue and mold are placed

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Inside the pouch while the vacuum pulls the resin through a small tube into the bag, then through the tube with
Holes or something similar to evenly spread the resin throughout the fabric. Wire loom works perfectly for a
tube that requires holes inside the bag. Both of these methods of applying resin require hand work to spread the
resin evenly for a glossy finish with very small pin-holes.

3. The Competitive Nature of Composites in the Automotive Industry

The Competitive Nature of Composites in the Automotive Industry

Fig 13
There is an article to be discussion
“Some niche vehicle manufacturers are currently moving away from carbon fibre components for their medium
production volume vehicle structures because of long processing times needed for high integrity carbon fibre
composite components”

 It means the time that takes to manufacture a carbon fiber part is so big for that part to economically be
made at the production volume that they are looking for.
If the new vehicle design is expected to sell in higher volume than the old one, and it's beyond that
production- rate threshold, then you either substitute a different material or you double the cost of the
tooling so as to run two in parallel all the way through or you deal with the production-rate limitations.

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 Carbon-fiber parts have to be cured in-mold, which ties up that mold for the duration of curing. Sure, you could
have multiple molds and do multiple parts at a time ... but that gets expensive, space-consuming, and time-
consuming. The production method for carbon-fiber parts lends itself to low-volume production,
seconds until you have a bunch of left fenders, then swap dies and use the SAME press to knock out a whole
bunch of right fenders, then swap dies again and use the SAME press to knock out a bunch of door skins, etc. Or
injection molding where you do the same thing using dies for an injection molding machine - those won't do as
many cycles per minute as steel seal will, but it's still within reason.

References
1 . Adam, H., Carbon fibre in automotive applications. Materials and Design, 1997. 18(4/6): p. 349-355
2. Das, S., The cost of automotive polymer composites: A review and assessment of DOE's lightweight materials composite
research. 2001, Energy Division - Oak Ridge National Laboratory: Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

3. Callister
4. "Carbon fibre reinforced plastic bogies on test". Railway Gazette. 7 August 2016. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016.
Retrieved 9 August 2016

5. Kopeliovich, Dmitri. Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites Archived 14 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine.. substech.com

Figures
Fig 1 . Represent the structural of composite materials .
Fig 2 . Represent fibre rienforcement .
Fig 3 . Represent types of polymer fibres .
Fig 4 . Represent the shape of polymer fibres
Fig 5. Represent Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer

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Fig 6 . Represent suppliers of carbon fibres .
Fig 7 . Represent carbon reinforced .
Fig 8 . Represent applications of carbon fibre .
Fig 9. Represent Pultrusion production method .
Fig 10 . Represent global of carbon fibre .
Fig 11. Represent schematic for vacuum bag .
Fig 12. Represent The vacuum bag process .
Fig13 . Represent The Competitive Nature of Composites in the Automotive Industry .

THANKS

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