Abstract
Carbon fiber composites started out in the 1950s and attained the status of a mature structural material in the 1980s. Not unexpectedly, the aerospace industry has been the biggest user of carbon fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites, followed by the sporting goods industry. The availability of a large variety of carbon fibers (Chap. 2) and an equally large variety of polymer matrix materials (Chap. 3) made it easier for carbon fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites to assume the important position that they have. This is the reason we devote a separate chapter to this class of composites. Epoxy is the most commonly used polymer matrix with carbon fibers. Polyester, polysulfone, polyimide, and thermoplastic resins are also used. Carbon fibers are the major load-bearing components in most such composites. There is, however, a class of carbon fiber composites wherein the excellent electrical conduction characteristics of carbon fibers are exploited; for example in situations where static electric charge accumulation occurs, parts made of thermoplastics containing short fibers are frequently used. As we did for other composite systems, we describe the fabrication, properties, interfaces, and applications of carbon fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites. A special emphasis is given to carbon/ carbon composites, an important subclass.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
W. Fritz, W. Huttner, and G. Hartwig, in Nonmetallic Materials and Composites at Low Temperatures, Plenum Press, New York, 1979, p. 245.
L.E. McAllister and W.L. Lachman, in Fabrication of Composites, North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1983, p. 109.
D.M. Riggs, R.J. Shuford, and R.W. Lewis, in Handbook of Composites, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1982, p. 196.
CD. Shirrel and F.A. Sandow, in Fibrous Composites in Structural Design, Plenum Press, New York, 1980, p. 795.
T.A. Collings and D.E.W. Stone, Composites, 16, 307 (1985).
E. Fitzer and M. Heym, Chem. Ind., 663 (Aug. 21, 1976).
R.H. Eriksen, Composites, 7, 189 (1976).
J.B. Sturgeon, in Creep of Engineering Materials, a Journal of Strain Analysis Monograph, 1978, p. 175.
A. Baker, Met. Forum, 6, 81 (1983).
R.B. Pipes and N.J. Pagano, J. Composite Mater. 1, 538 (1970).
A.J. Klein, Adv. Mater. Proc. 2, 40 (Mar. 1986).
R.J. Diefendorf, in Tough Composite Materials, Noyes Publishing, Park Ridge, NJ, 1985, p. 191.
P. Ehrburger and J.B. Donnet, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, A294, 495 (1980).
J.-B. Donnet and R.C. Bansal, Carbon Fibers, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1984, p. 109.
D. Mackee and V. Mimeault, in Chemistry and Physics of Carbon, vol. 8, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1973, p. 151.
D. Clark, N.J. Wadsworth, and W. Watt, in Carbon Fibres, Their Place in Modern Technology, The Plastics Institute, London, 1974, p. 44.
F. Molleyre and M. Bastick, High Temp. High Pressure, 9, 237 (1977).
L.T. Drzal, M.J. Rich, and P.F. Lloyd, J. Adhesion, 16, (1983).
L.T. Drzal, M.J. Rich, M.F. Koenig, and P.F. Lloyd, J. Adhesion, 16, 133 (1983).
N.J. Mayer, in Engineering Applications of Composites, Academic Press, New York, 1974, p. 24.
Risk to the Public from Carbon Fibers Released in Civil Aircraft Accidents, NASA SP-448, NASA, Washington DC, 1980.
Suggested Reading
A.A. Baker, Met. Forum, 6, 81 (1983).
J. Delmonte, Technology of Carbon and Graphite Fiber Composites, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1981.
J.-B. Donnet and R.C. Bansal, Carbon Fibers, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1984.
P. Ehrburger and J.-B. Donnet in Handbook of Fiber Science & Technology, vol. III, High Technology Fibers, Part A, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1985, p. 169.
E. Fitzer, Carbon Fibres and Their Composites, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1985.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1987 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chawla, K.K. (1987). Carbon Fiber Composites. In: Composite Materials. Materials Research and Engineering. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3912-1_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3912-1_8
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-3914-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-3912-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive