Carbon Fiber Composite Materials

Carbon fibers assign to fibers that consist of at least 92 wt." carbon in composites. They can be long or short depending on the fiber production process. Carbon fibers, structure can be amorphous, semi-crystalline, or crystalline. In recent times, the most important raw material for most commercial production of carbon fiber is polyacrylonitrile (PAN), but due to high costs, these carbon fibers remain a value added product for use in high-end industrial applications, aerospace, sporting equipment, and different luxury automotive products. Rayon-based carbon fibers are no longer in production. Pitch-based fibers satisfy the needs of niche markets, and show promise of reducing prices to make mass markets possible. The Carbon Company SGL Group and the chemical company BASF have concluded the joint research of a new composite material system as an important development step of their collaboration. The system aims at enhancing the cost-effectiveness of manufacturing thermoplastic carbon-fiber composites, for example, in injection procedures and reaction injection molding.