Abstract

Steel and other hard construction materials have

revolutionized the field of industry. Now, a stage has come
that there is a need of a better material to catch up with the
growing needs and demands of the modern society. This
need has bought up a newer material to the field which is
now known as Carbon Fibres.

Carbon fibre is one of the latest reinforcement materials

used in composites. It's a real hi-tech material, which
provides very good structural properties, better than those
of any metal. Carbon fibre has a tensile strength almost 3
times greater than that of steel, yet is 4.5 times less dense.
Carbon fibers are carbon fibres with values of Young’s
modulus between 150 and 275 to 300 GPa.

2
Introduction

When you go to a sports shop you are inundated with new

"graphite" based materials for sports equipment: golf clubs,
tennis rackets, bicycles (frames and wheel disks), ultra light
airframes feature these new lightweight materials. But, we
are also familiar with graphite as being a very common and
mundane substance. Graphite has long been a component of
pencil lead, and is used as a basic lubricant. How is it that
graphite is both a hi-tech and low-tech material? Could we
take a bunch of pencil leads and epoxy them together into a
cutting edge tennis racquet? Anyone who has used
mechanical pencils knows that the leads break far too easily
to provide a strong frame. It would seem as if there are two
different kinds of graphite. In fact, this is true. When
vendors market "graphite fibre" products they are usually
selling a "carbon fibre" product. The correct name for the
fibres used in all strengthening and reinforcing applications
is carbon fibres. But, there is more to the story than just a
general misconception over the term "graphite fibres."
Surprisingly, if we look at a small section of graphite and
carbon fibres on the atomic level they appear to be identical.

3
What is Carbon Fibre?

Carbon Fibre is one of the most recent developments in the

field of composite materials and is one of the strongest
fibers known to man. It is usually the first choice of fibre if
something very strong and very light is required. Carbon
fibre was originally developed in space technology, but has
now been adopted in many other areas of manufacture.
Racing car monocoques and aero plane wings are usually
constructed of carbon. Generally the term "carbon fibre" is
used to refer to carbon filament thread. Carbon fibre is one
of the latest reinforcement materials used in composites. It's
a real hi-tech material, which provides very good structural
properties, better than those of any metal. This material is
known for its high specific stiffness and strength. The
material has an advantageous combination of good
mechanical properties and low weight. With the decrease in
its cost over recent years, it is fast becoming one of the
leading materials in many areas, including performance
sport equipment, transport, scientific experiments and even
wallets and watches!

4
Key Benefits
Fine Grained Unidirectional
Property 3-D Fibres
Graphite Fibres
Elastic Modulus (GPa) 10-15 120-150 40-100
Tensile Strength (MPa) 40-60 600-700 200-350
Compressive Strength
110-200 500-800 150-200
(MPa)
Fracture Energy
0.07-0.09 1.4-2.0 5-10
(kJm-2)
better than
Oxidation resistance Very low poor
graphite

TENSILE DENSITY SPECIFIC STRENGTH

STRENGTH
CARBON FIBRE 3.50 1.75 2.00
STEEL 1.30 7.90 0.17

Carbon fibre has a tensile strength almost 3 times greater

than that of steel, yet is 4.5 times less dense.
Some other properties of carbon fibre are:
• high tensile strength
• low thermal expansion
• Resistance to corrosion and fire
• High stress tolerance levels
• electrically and thermally conductive
• Chemical inertness
• light weight and low density
• very hard and brittle
• high abrasion and wear resistance

5
PRODUCTION PROCESSES – Carbon fibre

Carbon fibres are long bundles of linked graphite plates,

forming a crystal structure layered parallel to the fiber axis.
This crystal structure makes the fibers highly anisotropic,
with an elastic modulus of up to 5000GPa. Fibres can be
made from several different precursor materials, and the
method of production is essentially the same for each
precursor: a polymer fibre undergoes pyrolysis under well-
controlled heat, timing and atmospheric conditions, and at
some point in the process it is subjected to tension. The
resulting fiber can have a wide range of properties, based on
the orientation, spacing, and size of the graphite chains
produced by varying these process conditions.

Precursor material is drawn or spun into a thin filament. The

filament is then heated slowly in air to stabilize it and
prevent it from melting at the high temperatures used in the
following steps. The stabilized fibre is placed in an inert
atmosphere and heated to approximately 1500°C to drive
out the non-carbon constituents of the precursor material.
This pyrolysis process, known as carbonization, changes the
fibre from a bundle of polymer chains into a bundle of
"ribbons" of linked hexagonal graphite plates, oriented
somewhat randomly through the fibre. The length of the
ribbons can be increased and their axial orientation

6
improved through further heating steps up to 3000°C, a
process called graphitization. Because the graphite ribbons
are bonded to each other perpendicular to the fibres only by
weak Van der Waals bonds, the ribbons must be reoriented
to increase the tensile strength of the fibre to a useful level.
This is accomplished through the application of tension at
some point in the stabilization or pyrolysis phases, the exact
time depending on the precursor material. Increased axial
orientation increases the fibre's tensile strength by making
better use of the strong covalent bonds along the ribbons of
graphite plates.

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and rayon are the most commonly

used precursors. PAN is stretched during the stabilization
phase, and heated to 250°C in air. The tension is then
removed, and the fibre is heated slowly in an inert nitrogen
atmosphere to 1000-1500°C. Slow heating maintains the
molecular ordering applied by tension during the
stabilization phase. Graphitization at temperatures up to
3000°C then follows. Applying tension at 2000°C further
increases the proper ordering of graphite ribbons. Rayon, a
cellulose-based fibre made from wood pulp, is spun into a
filament from a melt, and stabilized without tension up to
400°C. It is then carbonized without tension up to 1500°C,
and is stretched in the graphitization phase up to 2500°C

7
PRODUCTION PROCESSES – Carbon Matrix

Manufacturing of Carbon fibre parts

8
A wide range of different processes have developed for
moulding of composites parts ranging from very simple
manual processes such as hand lay to very sophisticated
highly industrialized processes Each process has its own
particular benefits and limitations making it applicable for
particular applications. The choice of process is important in
order to achieve the required technical performance at an
economic cost

The main technical factors that govern the choice of process

are the size and shape of the part, the mechanical and
environmental performance and aesthetics. The main
economic factor is the number of identical parts required.
Most processes will have an initial investment or set up cost.
This is a major factor in the choice of process. Some of the
common methods are:

• Open moulding - hand and spray lamination

• Vacuum Infusion
• Resin injection
• Vacuum Bag and Press Moulding
• Pultrusion

Advantages

9
 • Very low weight
• High impact tolerance
• Insensitive to climate and temperature changes
• Reduced maintenance costs
• Long service life

Shortcomings

10
The chief drawback of carbon fibre composites is that they
oxidize readily at temperatures between 600-700°C,
especially in the presence of atomic oxygen. A protective
coating (usually silicon carbide) must be applied to prevent
high-temperature oxidation, adding an additional
manufacturing step and additional cost to the production
process. The high electrical conductivity of airborne graphite
particles creates an unhealthy environment for electrical
equipment near machining areas. Carbon fibre composites
are currently very expensive and complicated to produce,
which limits their use mostly to aerospace and defense
applications.

11
Conclusion

Carbon Fibre is now an engineering material that must be

designed, engineered and manufactured to the same
standards of precision and quality control as any other
engineering material. Carbon fibre thus has revolutionized
the field of light weight materials. This can be used as a
substitute for steel without the most of latter’s difficulties
like high weight, lack of corrosion resistance etc. This is thus
one of the future manufacturing materials.

13
A carbon fiber is a long, thin strand of material about 0.0002-0.0004 in
(0.005-0.010 mm) in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms.
The carbon atoms are bonded together in microscopic crystals that are
more or less aligned parallel to the long axis of the fiber. The crystal
alignment makes the fiber incredibly strong for its size. Several
thousand carbon fibers are twisted together to form a yarn, which may
be used by itself or woven into a fabric. The yarn or fabric is combined
with epoxy and wound or molded into shape to form various composite
materials. Carbon fiber-reinforced composite materials are used to
make aircraft and spacecraft parts, racing car bodies, golf club shafts,
bicycle frames, fishing rods, automobile springs, sailboat masts, and
many other components where light weight and high strength are
needed.

Carbon fibers were developed in the 1950s as a reinforcement for high-

temperature molded plastic components on missiles. The first 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.
In the early 1960s, a process was developed using polyacrylonitrile as a
raw material. This produced a carbon fiber that contained about 55%
carbon and had much better properties. The polyacrylonitrile conversion
process quickly became the primary method for producing carbon fibers.

During the 1970s, experimental work to find alternative raw materials

led to the introduction of carbon fibers made from a petroleum pitch
derived from oil processing. These fibers contained about 85% carbon
and had excellent flexural strength. Unfortunately, they had only limited
compression strength and were not widely accepted.

Today, carbon fibers are an important part of many products, and new
applications are being developed every year. The United States, Japan,
and Western Europe are the leading producers of carbon fibers.

Classification of Carbon Fibers

Carbon fibers are classified by the tensile modulus of the fiber. Tensile
modulus is a measure of how much pulling force a certain diameter fiber
can exert without breaking. The English unit of measurement is pounds
of force per square inch of cross-sectional area, or psi. Carbon fibers
classified as "low modulus" have a tensile modulus below 34.8 million
psi (240 million kPa). Other classifications, in ascending order of tensile

15
modulus, include "standard modulus," "intermediate modulus," "high
modulus," and "ultrahigh modulus." Ultrahigh modulus carbon fibers
have a tensile modulus of 72.5-145.0 million psi (500 million-1.0 billion
kPa). As a comparison, steel has a tensile modulus of about 29 million
psi (200 million kPa). Thus, the strongest carbon fiber is about five
times stronger than steel.

The term graphite fiber refers to certain ultrahigh modulus fibers made
from petroleum pitch. These fibers have an internal structure that
closely approximates the three-dimensional crystal alignment that is
characteristic of a pure form of carbon known as graphite.

Plastics are drown into long strands or fibers and then heated to a very
high temperature without allowing it to come in contact with oxygen.
Without oxygen, the fiber cannot burn. Instead, the high temperature
causes the atoms in the fiber to vibrate violently until most of the non-
carbon atoms are expelled.

Raw Materials

The raw material used to make carbon fiber is called the precursor.
About 90% of the carbon fibers produced are made from
polyacrylonitrile. The remaining 10% are made from rayon or petroleum

16
pitch. All of these materials are organic polymers, characterized by long
strings of molecules bound together by carbon atoms. The exact
composition of each precursor varies from one company to another and
is generally considered a trade secret.

During the manufacturing process, a variety of gases and liquids are

used. Some of these materials are designed to react with the fiber to
achieve a specific effect. Other materials are designed not to react or to
prevent certain reactions with the fiber. As with the precursors, the
exact compositions of many of these process materials are considered
trade secrets.

The Manufacturing
Process

The process for making carbon fibers is part chemical and part
mechanical. The precursor is drawn into long strands or fibers and then
heated to a very high temperature with-out allowing it to come in
contact with oxygen. Without oxygen, the fiber cannot burn. Instead,
the high temperature causes the atoms in the fiber to vibrate violently
until most of the non-carbon atoms are expelled. This process is called
carbonization and leaves a fiber composed of long, tightly

17
The fibers are coated to protect them from damage during winding or weaving. The coated
fibers are wound onto cylinders called bobbins.

The fibers are coated to protect them from damage during winding or
weaving. The coated fibers are wound onto cylinders called bobbins.
inter-locked chains of carbon atoms with only a few non-carbon atoms
remaining.

Here is a typical sequence of operations used to form carbon fibers from

polyacrylonitrile.

Spinning

• 1 Acrylonitrile plastic powder is mixed with another plastic, like

methyl acrylate or methyl methacrylate, and is reacted with a
catalyst in a conventional suspension or solution polymerization
process to form a polyacrylonitrile plastic.
• 2 The plastic is then spun into fibers using one of several different
methods. In some methods, the plastic is mixed with certain
chemicals and pumped through tiny jets into a chemical bath or
quench chamber where the plastic coagulates and solidifies into
fibers. This is similar to the process used to form polyacrylic
textile fibers. In other methods, the plastic mixture is heated and
pumped through tiny jets into a chamber where the solvents
evaporate, leaving a solid fiber. The spinning step is important
because the internal atomic structure of the fiber is formed during
this process.
• 3 The fibers are then washed and stretched to the desired fiber
diameter. The stretching helps align the molecules within the fiber
and provides the basis for the formation of the tightly bonded
carbon crystals after carbonization.

Stabilizing

• 4 Before the fibers are carbonized, they need to be chemically

altered to convert their linear atomic bonding to a more thermally
stable ladder bonding. This is accomplished by heating the fibers
in air to about 390-590° F (200-300° C) for 30-120 minutes. This
causes the fibers to pick up oxygen molecules from the air and
rearrange their atomic bonding pattern. The stabilizing chemical
reactions are complex and involve several steps, some of which
occur simultaneously. They also generate their own heat, which
must be controlled to avoid overheating the fibers. Commercially,

18
 the stabilization process uses a variety of equipment and
techniques. In some processes, the fibers are drawn through a
series of heated chambers. In others, the fibers pass over hot
rollers and through beds of loose materials held in suspension by
a flow of hot air. Some processes use heated air mixed with
certain gases that chemically accelerate the stabilization.

Carbonizing

• 5 Once the fibers are stabilized, they are heated to a temperature

of about 1,830-5,500° F (1,000-3,000° C) for several minutes in a
furnace filled with a gas mixture that does not contain oxygen.
The lack of oxygen prevents the fibers from burning in the very
high temperatures. The gas pressure inside the furnace is kept
higher than the outside air pressure and the points where the
fibers enter and exit the furnace are sealed to keep oxygen from
entering. As the fibers are heated, they begin to lose their non-
carbon atoms, plus a few carbon atoms, in the form of various
gases including water vapor, ammonia, carbon monoxide, carbon
dioxide, hydrogen, nitrogen, and others. As the non-carbon atoms
are expelled, the remaining carbon atoms form tightly bonded
carbon crystals that are aligned more or less parallel to the long
axis of the fiber. In some processes, two furnaces operating at
two different temperatures are used to better control the rate de
heating during carbonization.

Treating the surface

• 6 After carbonizing, the fibers have a surface that does not bond
well with the epoxies and other materials used in composite
materials. To give the fibers better bonding properties, their
surface is slightly oxidized. The addition of oxygen atoms to the
surface provides better chemical bonding properties and also
etches and roughens the surface for better mechanical bonding
properties. Oxidation can be achieved by immersing the fibers in
various gases such as air, carbon dioxide, or ozone; or in various
liquids such as sodium hypochlorite or nitric acid. The fibers can
also be coated electrolytically by making the fibers the positive
terminal in a bath filled with various electrically conductive
materials. The surface treatment process must be carefully
controlled to avoid forming tiny surface defects, such as pits,
which could cause fiber failure.

Sizing

19
 • 7 After the surface treatment, the fibers are coated to protect
them from damage during winding or weaving. This process is
called sizing. Coating materials are chosen to be compatible with
the adhesive used to form composite materials. Typical coating
materials include epoxy, polyester, nylon, urethane, and others.
• 8 The coated fibers are wound onto cylinders called bobbins. The
bobbins are loaded into a spinning machine and the fibers are
twisted into yarns of various sizes.

Quality Control

The very small size of carbon fibers does not allow visual inspection as a
quality control method. Instead, producing consistent precursor fibers
and closely controlling the manufacturing process used to turn them into
carbon fibers controls the quality. Process variables such as time,
temperature, gas flow, and chemical composition are closely monitored
during each stage of the production.

The carbon fibers, as well as the finished composite materials, are also
subject to rigorous testing. Common fiber tests include density,
strength, amount of sizing, and others. In 1990, the Suppliers of
Advanced Composite Materials Association established standards for
carbon fiber testing methods, which are now used throughout the
industry.

Health and Safety Concerns

There are three areas of concern in the production and handling of

carbon fibers: dust inhalation, skin irritation, and the effect of fibers on
electrical equipment.

During processing, pieces of carbon fibers can break off and circulate in
the air in the form of a fine dust. Industrial health studies have shown
that, unlike some asbestos fibers, carbon fibers are too large to be a
health hazard when inhaled. They can be an irritant, however, and
people working in the area should wear protective masks.

The carbon fibers can also cause skin irritation, especially on the back of
hands and wrists. Protective clothing or the use of barrier skin creams is
recommended for people in an area where carbon fiber dust is present.
The sizing materials used to coat the fibers often contain chemicals that
can cause severe skin reactions, which also requires protection.

20
In addition to being strong, carbon fibers are also good conductors of
electricity. As a result, carbon fiber dust can cause arcing and shorts in
electrical equipment. If electrical equipment cannot be relocated from
the area where carbon dust is present, the equipment is sealed in a
cabinet or other enclosure.

The Future

The latest development in carbon fiber technology is tiny carbon tubes

called nanotubes.

These hollow tubes, some as small as 0.00004 in (0.001 mm) in

diameter, have unique mechanical and electrical properties that may be
useful in making new high-strength fibers, submicroscopic test tubes, or
possibly new semiconductor materials for integrated circuits

Read more: How carbon fiber is made - material, making, used, processing, parts,
components, composition, structure, steps, industry, machine, Classification of Carbon
Fibers, Raw Materials http://www.madehow.com/Volume-4/Carbon-
Fiber.html#ixzz1oFxCYJBO

21
What is Carbon Fiber?
Carbon fiber is composed of carbon atoms bonded together to form a long chain. The fibers
are extremely stiff, strong, and light, and are used in many processes to create excellent
building materials. Carbon fiber material comes in a variety of "raw" building-blocks,
including yarns, uni-directional, weaves, braids, and several others, which are in turn used
to create composite parts.

Plain Carbon Fiber Weave Carbon Fiber Twill Weave

Within each of these categories are many sub-categories of further refinement. For
example, different types of carbon fiber weaves result in different properties for the
composite part, both in fabrication, as well as final product. In order to create a composite
part, the carbon fibers, which are stiff in tension and compression, need a stable matrix to
reside in and maintain their shape. Epoxy resin is an excellent plastic with good
compressive and shear properties, and is often used to form this matrix, whereby the carbon
fibers provide the reinforcement. Since the epoxy is low density, one is able to create a part
that is light weight, but very strong. When fabricating a composite part, a multitude of
different processes can be utilized, including wet-layup, vacuum bagging, resin transfer,
matched tooling, insert molding, pultrusion, and many other methods. In addition, the
selection of the resin allows tailoring for specific properties.

22
 Carbon fibers reinforcing a stable matrix of epoxy

Strength, Stiffness, and Comparisons With Other Materials

Carbon fiber is extremely strong. It is typical in engineering to measure the benefit of a
material in terms of strength to weight ratio and stiffness to weight ratio, particularly in
structural design, where added weight may translate into increased lifecycle costs or
unsatisfactory performance. The stiffness of a material is measured by its modulus of
elasticity. The modulus of carbon fiber is typically 20 msi (138 Gpa) and its ultimate
tensile strength is typically 500 ksi (3.5 Gpa). High stiffness and strength carbon fiber
materials are also available through specialized heat treatment processes with much higher
values. Compare this with 2024-T3 Aluminum, which has a modulus of only 10 msi and
ultimate tensile strength of 65 ksi, and 4130 Steel, which has a modulus of 30 msi and
ultimate tensile strength of 125 ksi.

As an example, a plain-weave carbon fiber reinforced laminate has an elastic modulus of

approximately 6 msi and a volumetric density of about 83 lbs/ft3. Thus the stiffness to
weight for this material is 107 ft. By comparison, the density of aluminum is 169 lbs/ft3,
which yields a stiffness to weight of 8.5 x 106 ft, and the density of 4130 steel is 489 lbs/ft3,
which yields a stiffness to weight of 8.8 x 106 ft. Hence even a basic plain-weave carbon
fiber panel has a stiffness to weight ratio 18% greater than aluminum and 14% greater than
steel. When one considers the possibility of customized carbon fiber panel stiffness through
strategic laminate placement, as well as the potentially massive increase in both strength
and stiffness possible with lightweight core materials, is it obvious the impact advanced
carbon fiber composites can make on a wide variety of applications.

Pros and Cons

Carbon fiber reinforced composites have several highly desirable traits that can be
exploited in the design of advanced materials and systems. The two most common uses for
carbon fiber are in applications where high strength to weight and high stiffness to weight
are desirable. These include aerospace, military structures, robotics, wind turbines,
manufacturing fixtures, sports equipment, and many others. High toughness can be
accomplished when combined with other materials. Certain applications also exploit
carbon fiber's electrical conductivity, as well as high thermal conductivity in the case of
specialized carbon fiber. Finally, in addition to the basic mechanical properties, carbon
fiber creates a unique and beautiful surface finish.

23
Although carbon fiber has many significant benefits over other materials, there are also
tradeoffs one must weigh against. First, solid carbon fiber will not yield. Under load carbon
fiber bends but will not remain permanently deformed. Instead, once the ultimate strength
of the material is exceeded, carbon fiber will fail suddenly and catastrophically. In the
design process it is critical that the engineer understand and account for this behavior,
particularly in terms of design safety factors. Carbon fiber composites are also significantly
more expensive than traditional materials. Working with carbon fiber requires a high skill
level and many intricate processes to produce high quality building materials (for example,
solid carbon sheets, sandwich laminates, tubes, etc). Very high skill level and specialized
tooling and machinery are required to create custom-fabricated, highly optimized parts and
assemblies.

Carbon Fiber vs. Metals

When designing composite parts, one cannot simply compare properties of carbon fiber
versus steel, aluminum, or plastic, since these materials are in general homogeneous
(properties are the same at all points in the part), and have isotropic properties throughout
(properties are the same along all axes). By comparison, in a carbon fiber part the strength
resides along the axis of the fibers, and thus fiber properties and orientation greatly impact
mechanical properties. Carbon fiber parts are in general neither homogeneous nor isotropic.

The properties of a carbon fiber part are close to that of steel and the weight is close to that
of plastic. Thus the strength to weight ratio (as well as stiffness to weight ratio) of a carbon
fiber part is much higher than either steel or plastic. The specific details depend on the
matter of construction of the part and the application. For instance, a foam-core sandwich
has extremely high strength to weight ratio in bending, but not necessarily in compression
or crush. In addition, the loading and boundary conditions for any components are unique
to the structure within which they reside. Thus it is impossible for us to provide the
thickness of carbon fiber plate that would replace the steel plate in your application. It is
the customer's responsibility to determine the safety and suitability of any Dragonplate
product for a specific purpose. This is accomplished through engineering analysis and
experimental validation.

COMPARISON CRITERIA
Stiffness Moisture Sound
PRODUCTS Toughness Crushability
to Weight Resistance Absorbency
Solid Carbon
GOOD GOOD BEST BEST POOR
Fiber
Birch Core BETTER BEST BEST GOOD POOR
Balsa Core BETTER GOOD BETTER POOR GOOD
Polypropylene
BEST GOOD GOOD BEST BEST
Honeycomb Core

24
 Nomex
BEST BETTER BETTER BETTER BEST
Honeycomb Core
Depron Foam
BETTER POOR POOR BETTER BETTER
Core
Airex Foam Core BEST GOOD GOOD BETTER BETTER
Divinycell Foam
BETTER BEST BETTER BETTER GOOD
Core

DragonPlate Glossary
3-Point Bending: A condition where both ends of a beam are supported and a load is
applied at the mid-span.

Aramid Fiber: A synthetic fiber with exceptional strength and toughness commonly used
in applications where high resistance to impacts.

Axial Stress: Stress component along the longitudinal axis of a component.

Brittle Material: A material that does not yield, but instead fails suddenly when the
ultimate stress is exceeded.

Carbon Fiber: A high strength, high stiffness material that when combined with a resin
matrix creates a composite with exceptional mechanical properties.

CFRP: Abbreviated form of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic

Cantilever: A condition where one end of a beam is fixed and a load is applied to the
opposite free end.

Composite Sandwich Core: In a composite sandwich structure, the core is a lower density
material placed close to the neutral axis in order to increase the stiffness to weight ratio.

Composite material: A material created by combining two or more materials such that the
final construction exploits certain properties from each. In the construction of carbon-fiber
reinforced plastics, the high strength, high stiffness of the carbon fibers are combined with
a low density stable matrix to create a combined material with desirable material
properties.

Density: The weight of a material per unit length, area, or volume (linear density, areal
density and volumetric density, respectively).

Epoxy: A polymer resin that hardens when combined with a catalyst. Epoxy is one of the
most common materials used to form the matrix in carbon-fiber fabrication.

25
Fiberglass: A glass fiber reinforced plastic similar to carbon-fiber, but with much lower
strength and stiffness, but also much lower cost.

Homogeneous: Defined as having a uniform composition throughout the material.

Isotropic: Defined as having the same properties (mechanical, electrical, thermal, etc) in
all directions. Carbon-Fiber laminates are typically highly directional, having high stiffness
and strength only along the longitudinal directions of the fibers.

Matrix: In a composite material the matrix comprises the stable "fill" which holds the fiber
reinforcement. By itself the matrix is typically much weaker than the fibers, particularly in
tension. The matrix's primary function is to transfer the loads between the fibers within the
composite material.

Modulus of Elasticity: A measure of the stiffness of a material, defined as the axial stress
divided by the axial strain. The higher the modulus, the stiffer the material (i.e. the greater
the stress necessary to cause deformation). Also known as Young's Modulus.

Poisson's Ratio: When a material is stretched due to an applied load, it elongates in the
axial direction and contracts in the perpendicular, or transverse, direction. The poisson's
ratio is defined as the axial strain divided by the transverse strain.

Quasi-Isotropic: In a composite material, the placement of individual laminates, or plies,

so that the fibers are directed along multiple directions. The result is a material with
approximate isotropy in mechanical properties.

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN): A raw material commonly used to make carbon-fiber.

Pultrusion: A process which creates an extremely stiff rod, tube, or other cross-section
whereby all of the carbon fibers are aligned along the longitudinal axis.

Reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC): Carbon-reinforced graphite composite used in high

temperature applications.

Shear Modulus: Defined as the shear stress divided by the shear strain. Also known as the
Modulus of Rigidity.

Shear Stress: The component of stress parallel to the cross-sectional face of a material.

Shear Strain: Deformation of a material caused by a shear stress. A shear strain causes
skewing of a material element.

Strain: The deformation of a material caused by an applied load. The strain is defined as
the change in length divided by the original length of a material.

26
Although many readers of HPC use carbon fiber, few know much about how it is made.
That should surprise no one. Carbon fiber producers are tight-lipped about how their
product is manufactured. Each producer’s fiber differs from those of its competitors, and
the processing details that give each brand its signature characteristics are considered to be
intellectual property. The carbon fiber manufacturing process also is notoriously difficult
and expensive. Tool-up of a single world-class production line is capital intensive — $25
million minimum for equipment alone — and can take up to two years to implement. In
fact, the cost can be much more.

Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Rayon Co. Ltd.’s (MRC) 9.4 million ft²/874,000m² Otake
production facility, for example, is slated for a $100 million, three-year expansion — a
production line that could annually produce as much as 20 million lb/9,072 tonnes of
carbon fiber (see “Learn More,” at right). This goes a long way toward explaining why,
historically, it has been difficult to avoid the imbalances between supply and demand that
cause prices to plummet and peak. Little wonder, then, that the current cadre of carbon
fiber producers numbers less than a dozen worldwide (see chart at right).

HPC, with the help of several carbon fiber process suppliers, recently peeked behind the
veil of secrecy to find this more inclusive, if still incomplete, picture of the process.

A definitive difference
Unlike metals, which are homogeneous and, by design, have properties that conform to
established standards, making each producer’s P20 steel, for example, interchangeable with
another’s, composites are heterogeneous. Composed of combinations of unlike materials
(fiber and resin), their variability, and therefore, tailorability, are central to their appeal.
Accordingly, carbon fiber producers make products that are similar but not identical.
Carbon fiber varies in tensile modulus (or stiffness determined as deformation under strain)
and tensile, compressive and fatigue strength. PAN-based carbon fiber is available today in
low modulus (less than 32 million lbf/in² or <32 Msi), standard modulus (33 to 36 Msi),
intermediate modulus (40 to 50 Msi), high modulus (50 to 70 Msi) and ultrahigh modulus
(70 to 140 Msi). Fiber, which is available in bundles called tow, comes in many sizes,

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ranging from 1K to 350K (1K equals 1,000 filaments that range from 5 to 10 microns in
diameter). Products also vary in the degree of carbon content and type of surface
treatment/coating.

“The complexity inherent in carbon fiber composites is the very thing that adds value to
structures made from carbon fiber,” says Steven Carmichael, director of sales and
marketing for MRC subsidiary Grafil Inc. (Sacramento, Calif). “Like making fine wine, the
right amount of patience, finesse and processing expertise brings out the subtleties in
carbon fiber that add value.” That value, of course, is very high: As a metal replacement,
carbon fiber composites offer 10 times the strength of steel at half the weight.

In simplest terms, carbon fiber is produced by pyrolysis of an organic precursor fiber in an

inert atmosphere at temperatures above 982°C/1800°F. Carbon fiber manufacture,
however, is a complex undertaking. Grafil’s 60,000 ft²/5,574m² plant in Sacramento, Calif.
— small in comparison to MRC’s Otake plant, even after its 2 million-lb/544-tonne
capacity expansion in 2005, with side-by-side production lines — provided the basis for
HPC’s walk-through of the primary production phases. These are polymerization and
spinning, oxidation (also referred to as stabilization), carbonization (sometimes
inaccurately referred to as graphitization), surface treatment and sizing application.
Throughout the process, tight tolerances define the fiber’s ultimate utility. “A target
coefficient of variation on yield is 1 percent,” says Gordon Shearer, Grafil’s operations
director, noting that real-world variation runs about 3 percent for the small tow (1K to 24K)
that is used in demanding applications, such as aircraft (hence, its designation as aerospace
grade), while large tow (industrial or commercial grade) can vary up to 15 percent.

Polymerization
The process begins with a polymeric feedstock known as a precursor (“that which comes
before”), which provides the fiber’s molecular backbone. Today about 10 percent of
produced carbon fiber is made from a rayon- or pitch-based precursor, but the majority is
derived from polyacrylonitrile (PAN), made from acrylonitrile, which is derived from the
commodity chemicals propylene and ammonia.
For that reason, this article depicts production of PAN-based carbon fiber.

Converting PAN into carbon fiber has challenged producers for more than 30 years.
Carmichael adds that most of a carbon fiber producer’s investment is spent on precursor,
and the quality of the finished fiber is directly dependent on that of the precursor.
Specifically, Shearer notes, attention to precursor quality minimizes variation in the yield,
or length per unit of fiber weight.

Generally, precursor formulation begins with an acrylonitrile monomer, which is combined

in a reactor with plasticized acrylic comonomers and a catalyst, such as itaconic acid, sulfur
dioxide acid, sulfuric acid or methylacrylic acid. Continuous stirring blends the ingredients,
ensures consistency and purity and initiates the formation of free radicals within the
acrylonitrile’s molecular structure. This change leads to polymerization, the chemical
process that creates long-chain polymers that can be formed into acrylic fibers.

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The details of polymerization, such as temperature, atmosphere, specific comonomers and
catalyst are proprietary. According to Peter Morgan, author of Carbon Fibers and Their
Composites (CRC Press, 2005, www.crcpress.com), “polymerization should achieve at
least 85 percent acrylonitrile content and relative molecular weight of 100,000 g/mole with
uniform distribution in order to imbue PAN white fiber with good mechanical properties.”
MRC’s precursor as used by Grafil, for example, achieves 94 to 98 percent acrylonitrile
content.

After washing and drying, the acrylonitrile, now in powder form, is dissolved in either
organic solvents, such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), dimethyl acetamide (DMAC) or
dimethyl formamide (DMF), or aqueous solvents, such as zinc chloride and rhodan salt.
Organic solvents help avoid contamination by trace metal ions that could upset thermal
oxidative stability during processing and retard high-temperature performance in the
finished fiber. At this stage, the powder-and-solvent slurry, or precursor “dope,” is the
consistency of maple syrup. The choice of solvent, and the degree to which the dope’s
viscosity can be controlled (by means of extensive filtration), are critical to the success of
the next phase, fiber formation.

Spinning
PAN fibers are formed by a process called wet spinning. The dope is immersed in a liquid
coagulation bath and extruded through holes in a spinneret made from precious metals. The
spinneret holes match the desired filament count of the PAN fiber (e.g., 12,000 holes for
12K carbon fiber). This wet-spun fiber, relatively gelatinous and fragile, is drawn by rollers
through a wash to remove excess coagulant, then dried and stretched to continue the
orienting of the PAN polymer. Here, the filament’s external shape and internal cross-
section are determined by the degree to which the selected solvent and coagulant have
penetrated the precursor fiber, the amount of applied tension and the percentage of filament
elongation. The latter is proprietary to each producer, but Morgan asserts that the stretch
rate can be up to 12 times the initial pliability of precursor fiber.

An alternative to wet spinning is a hybrid process called dry jet/wet spinning, which uses a
vertical air gap between the fiber and coagulate bath. This creates a smooth, round PAN
fiber that can enhance the fiber/matrix resin interface in composite materials.

The last step in PAN precursor fiber formation is the application of a finishing oil to
prevent the tacky filaments from clumping. The white PAN fiber then is dried again and
wound onto bobbins.

Oxidation
These bobbins are loaded into a creel that feeds the PAN fiber through a series of
specialized ovens during the most time-consuming stage of production, oxidation. Before
they enter the first oven, the PAN fibers are spread flat into a tow band or sheet referred to
as warp. The oxidation oven temperature ranges from 392°F to 572°F (200°C to 300°C).
The process combines oxygen molecules from the air with the PAN fibers in the warp and
causes the polymer chains to start crosslinking. This increases the fiber density from ~1.18
g/cc to as high as 1.38 g/cc.

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To avoid runaway exotherm (the total exothermic energy released during oxidation,
estimated at 2,000 kJ/kg, poses a real fire hazard), oven manufacturers use a variety of
airflow designs to help dissipate heat and control temperature (see sidebar, below). Matt
Litzler, president of C.A. Litzler Co. Inc. (Cleveland, Ohio), observes that “every precursor
has its own exothermic pattern. Since individual precursor chemistry is fixed, control of
temperature and airflow in the oxidation oven is adapted to each precursor and provides
stabilization of the exothermic reaction.”

Oxidation time varies, driven by specific precursor chemistry, but Litzler estimates that
24K tow could be oxidized at about 43 ft/13m per minute on a large production line with
multiple oxidation ovens. Randy Strop, general manager for oven manufacturer Despatch
Industries (Lakeville, Minn.), says an elapsed time of 60 to 120 minutes is typical, as are
four to six ovens per production line, with ovens stacked to provide two heating zones that
offer 11 to 12 passes of the fiber per oven. In the end, the oxidized (stabilized) PAN fiber
contains about 50 to 65 percent carbon molecules, with the balance a mixture of hydrogen,
nitrogen and oxygen.

Carbonization
Carbonization occurs in an inert (oxygen-free) atmosphere inside a series of specially
designed furnaces that progressively increase the processing temperatures. At the entrance
and exit of each furnace, purge chambers prevent oxygen intrusion because every oxygen
molecule that is carried through the oven removes a portion of the fiber, explains Robert
Blackmon, VP of the Process Systems Div. at furnace source Harper International
(Lancaster, N.Y.). This prevents loss of the carbon produced at such high temperatures. In
the absence of oxygen, only noncarbon molecules, including hydrogen cyanide elements
and other VOCs (generated during stabilization at concentration levels of 40 to 80 ppm)
and particulate (such as local buildup of fiber debris), are removed and exhausted from the
oven for post-treatment in an en-vironmentally controlled incinerator. At Grafil,
carbonization begins in a low-temperature furnace that subjects the fiber to 1292°F to
1472°F (700°C to 800°C) and ends in a high-temperature furnace at 2192°F to 2732°F
(1200°C to 1500°C). Fiber tensioning must be continued throughout the production
process. Ultimately, crystallization of carbon molecules can be optimized to produce a
finished fiber that is more than 90 percent carbon. Although the terms carbon and graphite
are often used interchangeably, the former denotes fibers carbonized at about
1315°C/2400°F and that contain 93 to 95 percent carbon. The latter are graphitized at
1900°C to 2480°C (3450°F to 4500°F) and contain more than 99 percent elemental carbon.

The number of furnaces is determined by the modulus desired in the carbon fiber; part of
the relatively high cost of high- and ultrahigh-modulus carbon fiber is due to the length of
dwell time and temperatures that must be achieved in the high-temperature furnace. While
dwell times are proprietary and differ for each grade of carbon fiber, oxidation dwell time
is measured in hours, but carbonization is an order of magnitude shorter, measured in
minutes. As the fiber is carbonized, it loses weight and volume, contracts by 5 to 10
percent in length and shrinks in diameter. In fact, the demonstrated conversion chemistry
ratio of PAN precursor to PAN carbon fiber is about 2:1, with less than 2 percent
permutability — that is, considerably less material exits the process than goes into it.

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Surface treatment and sizing
The next step is critical to fiber performance and, apart from the precursor, it most
differentiates one supplier’s product from its competitors’ product. Adhesion between
matrix resin and carbon fiber is crucial in a reinforced composite; during the manufacture
of carbon fiber, surface treatment is performed to enhance this adhesion. Producers use
different treatments, but a common method involves pulling the fiber through an
electrochemical or electrolytic bath that contains solutions, such as sodium hypochlorite or
nitric acid. These materials etch or roughen the surface of each filament, which increases
the surface area available for interfacial fiber/matrix bonding and adds reactive chemical
groups, such as carboxylic acids.

Next, a highly proprietary coating, called sizing, is applied. At 0.5 to 5 percent of the
weight of the carbon fiber, sizing protects the carbon fiber during handling and processing
(e.g., weaving) into intermediate forms, such as dry fabric and prepreg. Sizing also holds
filaments together in individual tows to reduce fuzz, improve processability and increase
interfacial shear strength between the fiber and matrix resin. Carbon fiber producers
increasingly use a sizing appropriate to the customer’s end use (see sidebar, below and
“Sizing and surface treatment: The key to carbon fiber’s future?” in “Learn More,” at
right). At Grafil, Carmichael adds, “we can customize surface treatment and sizing to a
particular customer’s resin characteristics, as well as specific properties desired in the
composite.”

According to Andy Brink, cofounder of the former Hydrosize Technologies (Raleigh,

N.C.), now part of Michelman (Cincinnati, Ohio), which he serves as business
development manager, “Polymeric film formers made by the dispersion of particles
suspended in water provide a stable chemistry that creates a good coating when dried. The
speed of most carbon fiber lines allows for fairly uniform sizing application that minimizes
aggregate clumps or bare spots.”

When the sizing dries, the long process is complete. Grafil (as do other suppliers) separates
individual tows out of the warp and winds them onto bobbins for shipment to customers,
including prepreggers and weavers.

If an industry’s history serves as a precursor of its future, the sheer magnitude of machinery
and manufacturing acumen required for the successful transformation of white PAN fiber
into black carbon fiber suggests that producing this advanced material is not a business for
the faint of heart or the inexperienced. Three decades of processing refinement have
brought technology maturity and the ability to translate superior performance and
application versatility through the fibers to advanced composites. What has gone before
both technologically and economically sets the stage for the potential growth in demand
that marks the future

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