When you are looking for a lightweight material with more strength than steel, you’ll want to take a look at carbon fiber. Carbon fiber composites are about half as heavy as steel bu they offer about 10 times the strength. At the same time carbon fibers are less than 10 microns in diameter, which makes them only a little wider than a single strand of spider silk. These properties can make carbon fiber product design the way to go for a number of products.
One of the main industries where carbon fiber design is vital is aerospace. Having a product that is both stronger an lighter than steel is ideal for aircraft. Being able to make them stronger while also lighter can improve both the safety and efficiency of airplanes. Mostly there are parts such as wings that use carbon fiber product design, but more and more, full airplanes are using the design.
Another industry where carbon fiber engineering is used is the automotive industry. Being able to make cars lighter helps automakers to better meet stricter fuel economy standards. It also is very popular with the makers of race cars. The increased strength combined with the reduced rate makes race cars safer as well as faster.
Carbon fiber manufacturing also is used in civil engineering. Retrofitting buildings, bridges and other structures can make them stronger and able to withstand more loads, both from traffic and from weather conditions. Using carbon fiber to reinforce concrete can often nearly double the strength of the structure.
Other popular industries where carbon fibers are used include clothing and sporting goods. It is used both in regular sporting goods, such as in basketball shoes and cricket racquets, and also for adaptive sports. One of the most famous uses of carbon fiber was for blades used by South African runner Oscar Pitorius, who was a paralympic champion who tried to qualify for the regular Olympics. In clothing, carbon fiber often is used as protection. It is common in certain types of gloves, such as motorcycle gloves.
Carbon fiber’s use has been limited due to its extra cost, which can be about 10 times that of steel. However, that cost continues to come down — it used to be about 35 times more expensive than steel — and the closer it gets to some of the materials it could replace, the more widely used it will become.
