Advantages and Disadvantages of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP)
CFRP is a lightweight, strong material that is widely used in the production and manufacture of many products used in our daily lives. Carbon fiber reinforced composites, or CFRP for short, are fiber reinforced composites that use carbon fibers as the main structural component. It should be noted that the "P" in CFRP composites can stand for not only "polymer" but also "plastic".
In general, thermosetting resins, such as epoxy resins, polyesters, or vinyl esters, are often used in CFRP composites. Although thermoplastic resins are also used in CFRP composites, "carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites" are often named CFRTP composites, which stands for Carbon Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites. acronym.
When dealing with composites, it is important to understand the terminology and abbreviations specific to a material. More importantly, however, is the need to understand the properties of FRP composites and their various reinforcements, such as carbon fiber.
Properties of carbon fiber composites
Carbon fiber reinforced composites, unlike other FRP composites that use traditional fibers, such as glass fibers or aromatic polyamide fibers, have excellent properties of CFRP composites including
Light weight - Traditional glass fiber reinforced composites use continuous glass fibers at 70% (weight glass/total weight) and typically have a density of 0.065 pounds per cubic inch.
High strength - CFRP composites, despite their light weight, have higher strength and greater stiffness per unit weight than glass fiber composites. This advantage is even more pronounced when compared to metallic materials. For example, experience tells us that CFRP materials are 1/5 of the weight of steel for the same strength, so imagine why all automotive manufacturers are looking at using carbon fiber instead of steel to improve their product performance.
When CFRP composites are compared to aluminum, one of the lightest metals in terms of mass, the weight is about 1.5 times that of a carbon fiber body, based on the basic assumption that aluminum at equal strength.
Of course there are many other variables in the experiment that may affect the comparison results, for example, the different grades and qualities of the materials, the compounding process, the production process, the fiber structure and the quality need to be taken into account as well.
Disadvantages of carbon fiber composites
High cost - Despite the excellent performance of CFRP composites, why are carbon fibers not widely used in the production of products? Currently, the cost of producing CFRP composites is too high. Depending on the current market conditions (supply and demand), the type of carbon fiber (aerospace vs. commercial grade), and the size of the fiber bundle, the price of the fiber can be very different.
The price per pound of raw carbon fiber can range from 5-25 times the price of glass fiber. Compared to steel, the high cost of CFRP material is even more prominent.
Electrical conductivity - This can be both an advantage of carbon fiber composites and a possible drawback in practical applications. Carbon fibers are extremely conductive, while glass fibers are insulating. The reason many products use glass fiber and cannot be replaced with carbon fiber or metal is because of the strict insulating properties required.
In utility production, many products require the use of glass fiber. For example, ladders are manufactured using fiberglass as the ladder frame for the following reason: When a fiberglass ladder comes in contact with power lines, the likelihood of electric shock is much lower. Carbon fiber ladders, on the other hand, are extremely conductive, and the consequences are unthinkable.
Despite the high cost of carbon fiber composites, however, with the advancement of technology, more efficient and effective products will emerge in the near future. Perhaps in our lifetime, we can expect to see the widespread use of high-performance carbon fiber products in the consumer market, industrial production and automotive manufacturing.