Carbon Fibers

Author(s)

Herwig Peterlik

Abstract

Carbon fibers exhibit mechanical properties superior to any other fiber, such as Young's modulus up to more than 900 GPa (close to the value of diamond) and an extremely high specific strength due to their low weight. Furthermore, these properties are maintained up to extremely high temperatures of more than 2000°C, which makes carbon fibers especially suited for aerospace applications. The basic structural units of carbon fibers are stacked graphene sheets with a considerable number of different defects. The precise defect structure on the atomic scale and the role of covalent cross-links between graphene sheets are still an open question, as well as their importance for controlling mechanical and thermal properties of carbon fibers. This chapter gives an overview of the main production routes of carbon fibers, their hierarchical structure from the atomistic to the micrometer scale, and the effect of the structure on strength and stiffness of carbon fibers.

Organisation(s)

Dynamics of Condensed Systems

Volume

9781118231166

Pages

27-39

No. of pages

13

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118832998.ch2

Publication date

10-2014

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

103015 Condensed matter, 103018 Materials physics, 103009 Solid state physics

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Engineering, General Chemistry, General Materials Science

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/6a4d876a-e3f6-4468-8ae6-96ef7e8be896