The practical application of carbon fiber and glass fiber

Carbon fiber

Carbon fiber is stronger than steel, less dense than aluminum, more resistant to corrosion than stainless steel, more resistant to high temperatures than heat-resistant steel, conductive like copper, and has electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties. In contrast to most materials, carbon fiber has a negative coefficient of thermal expansion. The low thermal expansion coefficient is an ideal material for applications that must operate in a wide temperature range.

Carbon fiber is usually not used alone. It is fused with resin and other materials to form a reinforced composite material, so the electrical conductivity will be reduced, and the temperature resistance of carbon fiber itself is good, but carbon fiber usually needs to be bonded with epoxy resin. Because of its flammability, the resin burns carbon fiber and becomes loose fiber, which no longer has strength.

In addition to traditional use, carbon fiber is used as a thermal insulation material. It is often added as a reinforcing material to resin, metal, ceramics, concrete and other materials to form composite materials. Carbon fiber has become the most important reinforcing material for advanced composite materials.

Glass fiber

Glass fiber is strong and flexible, so it can become an excellent structural material after changing its shape with resin. As its diameter becomes smaller, the strength of the glass fiber increases. These characteristics make the use of glass fiber far more extensive than other types of fiber.

Both glass fiber and carbon fiber are widely used in various industries such as construction, aviation, and automobiles.

Carbon fiber composite material VS glass fiber composite material

Price

The price of glass fiber is much lower than that of carbon fiber, and its application is more extensive. Carbon fiber products are customized products with high directivity, and because the raw materials and production costs of carbon fiber are particularly high, and the requirements for the process are also very high, it is relatively difficult to realize the mass production of carbon fiber products, and there is no price advantage. There is also a huge difference in strength.

Specific Gravity

Carbon fiber has a small specific gravity and is 15% lighter than glass fiber composite materials. Carbon fiber composite materials are more used in rockets, satellites, missiles, fighter jets, ships and other advanced weapons and equipment essential strategic basic materials. For example, it is applied to the missile body and engine shell of strategic missiles, which can greatly reduce the weight and increase the range and assault capability of the missile. As an automobile material, carbon fiber has the biggest advantage of light weight and high strength. The weight is only 20% to 30% of steel, but its hardness is more than 10 times that of steel. Carbon fiber is better than glass fiber in this point.

Density

Carbon fiber has high strength and low density is its most widely known label. In addition, it also has a series of advantages such as high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, and aging resistance. Therefore, carbon fiber is widely used in many fields with its many excellent properties. Compared with glass fiber, carbon fiber material generally has higher performance. The Young’s modulus of carbon fiber (the physical quantity of solid material resistance to deformation) is more than three times that of glass fiber, and it has stronger corrosion resistance and lighter weight. .

Health

When glass fiber is manufactured, it is very dangerous to inhale glass fiber into the lungs. It will cut the lungs. This problem does not exist with carbon fiber.