By:
Group # 5
Kelvin John Hou
Adrian Go
Kyle Cheng
Axel NgSy
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Carbon fiber is the common name used to
refer to plastic reinforced by a graphite
textile/reinforced polymer. The term is
used to describe the textile itself, but it is
pretty much useless unless embedded in
plastic. Carbon fiber is known
alternatively as carbon fiber reinforced plastic
or carbon fiber composite. The plastic
typically used is epoxy.
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Carbon fiber is very strong, light and
expensive, but has a fantastic weightto-strength ratio. Attempts to put it
into mass production have so far
failed, due to inadequate demand,
the customized nature of most
carbon fiber parts, and a lack of
skilled craftsmen. The material is
employed in high-quality cars, boats,
bicycles, and planes, including
popular Formula One racecars.
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Similar to fiberglass (glass reinforced
polymer), the composite material is
commonly referred to by the name of its
reinforcing fibers (carbon fiber). The
polymer is most often epoxy, but other
polymers, such as polyester, vinyl ester or
nylon, are sometimes used. Some
composites contain both carbon fiber and
other fibers such as Kevlar, aluminum,
and fiberglass reinforcement. In product
advertisements, it is sometimes referred to
simply as graphite fiber (or graphite
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It has many applications in aerospace and
automotive fields, as well as in sailboats, and notably
in modern bicycles and motorcycles, where its high
strength-to-weight ratio is of importance. Improved
manufacturing techniques are reducing the costs and
time to manufacture, making it increasingly common
in small consumer goods as well, such as laptops,
tripods, fishing rods, paintball equipment, archery
equipment, racquet frames, stringed instrument
bodies, classical guitar strings, drum shells, golf
clubs, and pool/billiards/snooker cues.
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Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer is used extensively in high-end
automobile racing. The high cost of carbon fiber is mitigated by the
material's unsurpassed strength-to-weight ratio, and low weight is
essential for high-performance automobile racing. Racecar manufacturers
have also developed methods to give carbon fiber pieces strength in a
certain direction, making it strong in a load-bearing direction, but weak in
directions where little or no load would be placed on the member.
Conversely, manufacturers developed omnidirectional carbon fiber
weaves that apply strength in all directions. This type of carbon fiber
assembly is most widely used in the "safety cell" monocoque chassis
assembly of high-performance racecars.
Many supercars over the past few decades have incorporated CFRP
extensively in their manufacture, using it for their monocoque chassis as
well as other components.
Until recently, the material has had limited use in mass-produced cars
because of the expense involved in terms of materials, equipment, and the
relatively limited pool of individuals with expertise in working with it.
Recently, several mainstream vehicle manufacturers have started to use
CFRP in everyday road cars.
Use of the material has been more readily adopted by low-volume
manufacturers who used it primarily for creating body-panels for some of
their high-end cars due to its increased strength and decreased weight
compared with the glass-reinforced polymer they used for the majority of
their products.
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Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers have an almost infinite service lifetime
when protected from the sun, and, unlike steel alloys, have no endurance
limit when exposed to cyclic loading. When it is time to decommission
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers, they cannot be melted down in air like
many metals. When free of vinyl (polyvinyl chloride) and other
halogenated polymers, carbon fiber-reinforced polymers can be thermally
decomposed via thermal depolymerization in an oxygen-free
environment. This can be accomplished in a refinery in a one-step process.
Capture and reuse of the carbon and monomers is then possible. CFRPs
can also be milled or shredded at low temperature to reclaim the carbon
fiber, however this process shortens the fibers dramatically. Just as with
down cycled paper, the shortened fibers cause the recycled material to be
weaker than the original material. There are still many industrial
applications that do not need the strength of full-length carbon fiber
reinforcement. For example, chopped reclaimed carbon fiber can be used
in consumer electronics, such as laptops. It provides excellent
reinforcement of the polymers used even if it lacks the strength-to-weight
ratio of an aerospace component.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_fiberreinforced_polymer
http://image.made-inchina.com/2f0j00HCQtVOYsnekF/Carbon-FiberCar-Auto-Hoods-Bonnets.jpg
http://elitechoice.org/wpcontent/uploads/2009/01/1-carbon-fiber-lotuselise1.jpg
http://cdn.slashgear.com/wpcontent/uploads/2006/12/carbon-fibremacbook_011.jpg
http://www.product-reviews.net/wpcontent/userimages/2007/09/the-tramontana.jpg
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