A standard barrel of carbon fiber weighs about 1 kg and is 15,000 meters long. Its color is black and its appearance is not good, but it is magical. It is an inorganic fiber with a carbon content of more than 90% obtained by converting our artificial organic fibers at high temperatures, also known as “black gold”.
Why is it called magical carbon fiber? Mainly reflected in five aspects.
The first is as thin as hair. The diameter of carbon fiber is about 5-8 microns.
The second is light as a feather. The density of carbon fiber is one-fifth that of steel, two-fifths that of titanium, and three-fifths that of aluminum. A bicycle made of carbon fiber weighs only 5 kilograms, and a lady can easily lift it with one hand.
The third is as strong as steel. Carbon fiber is very strong. First of all, it has high strength. A bundle of standard 12K carbon fiber can bear a weight of about 130 kg. Secondly, carbon fiber is very resistant to high temperatures, and carbon fiber is still safe at 3000 degrees Celsius.
The fourth is that the preparation is very difficult. Its preparation difficulty is comparable to that of aero-engine manufacturing, chip manufacturing, and micro-nano manufacturing, and it is also a masterpiece of human industrial civilization. The carbon fiber preparation process is very long. It includes hundreds of subdivided processes. At present, there are more than 2,000 parameters to be controlled. It is a process that needs to be honed.
The fifth is as expensive as gold. Because carbon fiber is very difficult to prepare and the process is very long, it is very expensive. At present, the price of aerospace-grade carbon fiber is in the range of 1,000 to 10,000 yuan per kilogram, dozens of times that of steel and aluminum alloys.
Carbon fiber has many other advantages. For example, it has good corrosion resistance and can withstand various acids, alkalis, oils, and marine environments. Its corrosion resistance is better than gold and platinum. At the same time, carbon fiber also has a very peculiar feature, that is, its expansion coefficient is close to 0, and its size remains basically unchanged between minus 100 degrees Celsius and plus 100 degrees Celsius. In addition, after carbon fiber is made into a composite material, its fatigue resistance is very good.
