- Home
- Companies
- Alformet GmbH
- Products
- Alformet - Carbon Fiber for Aerospace ...
Alformet - Carbon Fiber for Aerospace and Engineering Applications
Carbon fibers are characterized by their small diameter of 5 to 10 micrometers and a composition predominantly of carbon atoms. These fibers are well-regarded for their high stiffness, impressive tensile strength, light weight, chemical resistance, and ability to withstand high temperatures while having minimal thermal expansion. Such mechanical and thermal properties make carbon fibers ideal for applications in aerospace, civil engineering, military, and motorsports, where durability and weight reduction are crucial. The manufacturing process involves bonding carbon atoms into crystals aligned parallelly, offering a high strength-to-volume ratio. Bundled into tows, these fibers can be woven into fabrics or combined with materials like thermosets or thermoplastics to form composites. Despite their cost compared to alternatives like glass fibers, carbon fibers' ability to conduct electricity and heat underscores their unique applications.
Carbon fibers are typically 5 to 10 micrometers in diameter and composed primarily of carbon atoms. Carbon fibers have several advantages including high stiffness, high tensile strength, low weight, high chemical resistance, high temperature tolerance and low thermal expansion. These properties have made carbon fiber very popular in aerospace, civil engineering, military and motorsports along with other competition sports. However, they are relatively expensive when compared with similar fiber products - such as glass fibers or plastic fibers. Also carbon fibers conduct electricity and heat whilst glass fibers act as isolators..
To produce a carbon fiber, the carbon atoms are bonded together in crystals that are aligned along the long axis of the fiber. The crystal alignment gives the fiber high strength-to-volume ratio (in other words, it is strong for its size). Several thousand carbon fibers are bundled together to form what is called a tow. This tow may be used by itself or woven into a fabric..
Carbon fibers are developed and produced by several companies, typically with specific characteristics: high modulus or high tensile strength.
Carbon fibers are usually combined with other materials, like thermosets or thermoplastics to create composites.