

One sheet of rods running in one direction is similar to a type of carbon fiber fabric called “unidirectional,” where all of the fibers run in the same direction. Because of this, it’s quite difficult to break a sheet of carbon fiber if you apply pressure in the same direction as the rods. But in carbon fiber, the rods are made from treated fiber and are much stronger than wood.

#CARBON FIBER STRAIN SERIES#
If you bend with the grain, however, the mat will not bend easily at all because that would mean actually bending hard enough to snap the wooden rods.Ĭarbon fiber sheets are composed of a series of parallel rods, similar to the sushi mat. The result is that it’s easy to bend the mat if you bend against the grain. The mat is made from a bunch of narrow wooden rods that run parallel to each other and are bound together. To explain, imagine one of those wooden mats used to make sushi. For example, if you want it to be super strong in one direction, and more flexible in the other, you can do that using a specific type of fabric and layup. The great thing about carbon fiber is you can control the strength and direction of the strength. The short answer is that it can, as described above. The molecular purity of carbon fiber also helps it to develop a tightly bonded structure. That may be counterintuitive to what you know about carbon fiber being strong, but the strength is created in the process of stacking multiple layers as well using the orientation and weave of the fibers, also known as the “layup.” In fact, at that thickness, carbon fiber is very easy to break. Those strands form a layer of carbon fiber, the strength of which is affected by the precise orientation of the strands and the types of fabric used in the layer.Ī single layer of carbon fiber is typically around 0.25mm thick, and is not very strong at all. The processes bind together thousands of small strands and mix them with an epoxy. This structure is created during all of the chemical reactions and extreme temperature changes the fiber goes through while being made. Watch this video to zoom in on carbon fiber to see just how strong and closely-knit the carbon fiber strands become.Ĭarbon fiber is among the strongest materials on earth due to the chainlike bonds of its molecules. It’s important to know that making strong carbon fiber is an extremely complex process that definitely can’t be done at home. For more info on how carbon fiber sheets become nearly unbreakable, see the section below on “Does Carbon Fiber Break Easily?” This is the process to make a single carbon fiber sheet, which is an extremely strong building material but can still be fragile and easy to break in some respects. The composition of the coating varies based on the initial materials used for the fiber. Third, the sheet is cooled and immersed in various chemical gases, including oxygen, to give it better bonding properties.įinally, an epoxy resin coating is applied to the sheet to protect the fibers from damage when used to make products. This involves heating the burn-resistant carbon to high temperatures in the open air, then putting it into a furnace filled with chemical gases (but not oxygen) and cooking it even further. Next, the carbon is stabilized and carbonized.

Since there is no oxygen, the fiber cannot burn but instead gets so hot that carbon atoms are all that remain.
#CARBON FIBER STRAIN FREE#
First, a sheet of fiber and other polymers is heated to a very high temperature in a space free of oxygen.
