Carbon fibers are very thin strands made mostly of carbon atoms that are exceptionally strong for their size. They are created by heating and processing precursor materials like polyacrylonitrile, rayon or petroleum pitch in an oxygen-free environment to remove non-carbon atoms. Individual carbon fibers are twisted together to form stronger yarns, which are then combined with epoxy and molded to create lightweight yet durable composite materials. These composites are used widely in aerospace, automotive, sporting goods and other industries where high strength and low weight are important. While carbon fiber was initially very expensive, production innovations have significantly reduced costs and expanded its applications.

1. Carbon Fiber:
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

2. Figure: carbon fiber

3. 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 are classified by the tensile modulus of the fiber. 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 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 fibers are
ten times stronger than steel and eight times that of aluminum, not to mention much lighter than
both materials, 5 and 1.5 times, respectively. Additionally, their fatigue properties are superior to
all known metallic structures, and they are one of the most corrosion-resistant materials
available, when coupled with the proper resins.
Thirty years ago, carbon fiber was a space-age material, too costly to be used in anything except
aerospace. However today, carbon fiber is being used in wind turbines, automobiles, sporting
goods, and many other applications. Thanks to carbon fiber manufacturers like Zoltek who are
committed to the commercialization concept of expanding capacity, lowering costs, and growing
new markets, carbon fiber has become a viable commercial product

4. History of carbon fiber
In 1958, Roger Bacon created high-
performance carbon fibers at the Union Carbide
Parma Technical Center, now GrafTech
International Holdings, Inc., located outside of
Cleveland, Ohio.[1] Those 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 by Dr. Akio Shindo at
Agency of Industrial Science and Technology
of Japan, using polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as a
raw material. This had produced a carbon fiber
that contained about 55% carbon.

5. Classification of Carbon Fiber:
Based on modulus, strength, and final heat
treatment temperature, carbon fibers can be
classified into the following categories:
1. Based on carbon fiber properties,
2. Based on precursor fiber materials,
Based on final heat treatment temperature

6. 1. Based on carbon fiber properties,
carbon fibers can be grouped into:
 Ultra-high-modulus, type UHM (modulus
>450Gpa)
 High-modulus, type HM (modulus between
350-450Gpa)
 Intermediate-modulus, type IM (modulus
between 200-350Gpa)
 Low modulus and high-tensile, type HT
(modulus < 100Gpa, tensile strength >
3.0Gpa)
 Super high-tensile, type SHT (tensile
strength > 4.5Gpa)

7. 2. Based on precursor fiber materials,
carbon fibers are classified into:
 PAN-based carbon fibers
 Pitch-based carbon fibers
 Mesophase pitch-based carbon fibers
 Isotropic pitch-based carbon fibers
 Rayon-based carbon fibers
 Gas-phase-grown carbon fibers

8. 3. Based on final heat treatment temperature, carbon fibers are classified
into:
 High-heat-treatment carbon fibers (HTT), where final heat treatment temperature should
be above 2000°C and can be associated with high-modulus type fiber.
 Intermediate-heat-treatment carbon fibers (IHT), where final heat treatment temperature
should be around or above 1500°C and can be associated with high-strength type fiber.
 Low-heat-treatment carbon fibers, where final heat treatment temperatures not greater
than 1000°C. These are low modulus and low strength materials.

9. Characteristics/Properties of Carbon Fibers
1. Physical strength, specific toughness, light weight.
2. Good vibration damping, strength, and toughness.
3. High dimensional stability, low coefficient of thermal expansion, and low abrasion.
4. Electrical conductivity.
5. Biological inertness and x-raypermeability.
6. Fatigue resistance, self-lubrication, high damping.
7. Electromagnetic properties.
8. Chemical inertness, high corrosion resistance.

10. How is Carbon Fiber Made?
The raw material used to make carbon fiber is called the precursor. About 90% of the carbon
fibers produced are made from polyacrylonitrile (PAN). The remaining 10% are made from
rayon or petroleum 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.
Here is a typical sequence of operations used to form carbon fibers from polyacrylonitrile
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
inter-locked chains of carbon atoms with only a few non-carbon atoms remaining.

12. Spinning
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.
 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.
The fibers are then washed and stretched to the desired fiber diameter. The stretching helps align
the molecules within the fiber and provide the basis for the formation of the tightly bonded
carbon crystals after carbonization

13. Stabilizing
 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, 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.

14. Carbonizing
 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 of
heating during carbonization.

15. Treating the surface
 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.

16. Sizing
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 Automotive
The future of Carbon Fiber is very bright, with vast potential in many different industries.
Among them are:
 Alternate Energy –– Wind turbines, compressed natural gas storage and transportation,
fuel cells
 Fuel Efficient Automobiles –– Currently used in small production, high performance
automobiles, but moving toward large production series cars
 Construction and Infrastructure –– Light weight pre-cast concrete, earth quake
protection
 Oil Exploration –– Deep Sea drilling platforms, buoyancy, umbilical, choke, and kill
lines, drill pipes

17. Carbon Fiber and Composites
Innovation in Carbon Fiber Production
Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Low-Cost Carbon Fiber work is focused on reducing
production cost of industrial-grade carbon fiber by approximately half to enable widespread
deployment in high-volume, cost-sensitive energy applications.
Carbon fiber is a strong, stiff, lightweight enabling material for improved performance in many
applications; however, its use in cost-sensitive, high-volume industrial applications such as
automobiles, wind energy, oil and gas, and infrastructure is limited because of relatively high
cost. Current methods for manufacturing carbon fiber and carbon-fiber reinforced composite
structures tend to be slow and energy intensive. New innovative manufacturing processes for
low-cost precursor development and conversion technologies hold the key for reducing carbon
fiber cost for energy applications. Similarly, innovative performance-focused materials and
processes can potentially drive significant performance improvements for national security
applications.

18. ORNL is advancing the development and commercialization of disruptive technologies in
 alternative precursors, notable derived from lignin and polyolefin,
 advanced processes such as a melt extrusion of fibers, microwave processing, and plasma
processing,
 advanced composite manufacturing processes delivering fast cycle times with excellent
repeatability, and
 the carbon fiber technology facility to foster technology transition for successful
commercial application.

19. BuildingaNetworkwithIndustry
TheOakRidgeCarbonFiber CompositesConsortiumisapublic–privatepartnershipenablinga
national networkfor innovations inmanufacturing. Theconsortium’s missionisto foster
industry-government collaborationsto acceleratethedevelopment anddeployment oflower-cost
carbonfiber materialsandprocessesandcreateanewgenerationofstrong, lightweight
composite Infrastructure

20. Application/Uses of Carbon Fiber
The two main applications of carbon fibers are in specialized technology, which includes
aerospace and nuclear engineering, and in general engineering and transportation, which includes
engineering components such as bearings, gears, cams, fan blades and automobile bodies.
Recently, some new applications of carbon fibers have been found. Such as rehabilitation of a
bridge in building and construction industry. Others include: decoration in automotive, marine,
general aviation interiors, general entertainment and musical instruments and after-market
transportation products. Conductivity in electronics technology provides additional new
application.

21. Application Carbon Fiber are given as Shortly:
 Aerospace, road and marine transport, sporting goods.
 Missiles, aircraft brakes, aerospace antenna and support structure, large telescopes,
optical benches, waveguides for stable high-frequency (GHz) precision measurement
frames.
 Audio equipment, loudspeakers for Hi-fi equipment, pickup arms, robot arms.
 Automobile hoods, novel tooling, casings and bases for electronic equipments, EMI and
RF shielding, brushes.
 Medical applications in prostheses, surgery and x-ray equipment, implants,
tendon/ligament repair.
 Textile machinery, genera engineering.
 Chemical industry; nuclear field; valves, seals, and pump components in process plants.
 Large generator retaining rings, radiological equipment.

22. Prepared by Md.Nazmul Hossain
Department of textile engineering
Southeast University.
ID:2012000400022
19th batch.
Email.textile19th@gmail.com
Ph:01687128686