Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer

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Tail of an RC helicopter, made of CFRP

Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer, carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic or carbon-fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP or often simply carbon fiber), is an extremely strong and light fiber-reinforced polymer which contains carbon fibers. The binding polymer is most often epoxy, but other polymers, such as polyester, vinyl ester or nylon, are sometimes used. The composite may contain other fibers, such as aramid e.g. Kevlar, Twaron, aluminium, or glass fibers, as well as carbon fiber. The strongest and most expensive of these additives, carbon nanotubes, are contained in some primarily polymer baseball bats, car parts and even golf clubs^[1] where economically viable. Carbon fiber is commonly used in the transportation industry; normally in cars, boats and trains.
Although carbon fiber can be relatively expensive, it has many applications in aerospace and automotive fields, such as Formula One. The compound is also used in sailboats, rowing shells, modern bicycles, and motorcycles, where its high strength-to-weight ratio and very good rigidity is of importance. Improved manufacturing techniques are reducing the costs and time to manufacture, making it increasingly common in small consumer goods as well, such as certain ThinkPads since the 600 series, tripods, fishing rods, hockey sticks, paintball equipment, archery equipment, tent poles, racquet frames, stringed instrument bodies, drum shells, golf clubs, helmets used as a paragliding accessory and pool/billiards/snooker cues.
The material is also referred to as graphite-reinforced polymer or graphite fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP is less common, as it clashes with glass-(fiber)-reinforced polymer). In product advertisements, it is sometimes referred to simply as graphite fiber for short.

Contents

• 1 Properties
• 2 Manufacture
  • 2.1 Molding
  • 2.2 Vacuum bagging
  • 2.3 Compression molding
  • 2.4 Filament winding
  • 2.5 Manufacturers of carbon fibers
• 3 Structure
• 4 Automotive uses
• 5 Civil engineering applications
• 6 Sporting goods
• 7 Aerospace engineering
• 8 Other applications
• 9 End of useful life/recycling
• 10 Carbon nanotube reinforced polymer (CNRP)
• 11 See also
• 12 References
• 13 External links

Properties

Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers are composite materials. In this case the composite consists of two parts; a matrix and a reinforcement. In CFRP the reinforcement is carbon fiber, which provides the strength. The matrix is usually a polymer resin, such as epoxy, to bind the reinforcements together.^[2] Because CFRP consists of two distinct elements, the material properties depend on these two elements.
The reinforcement will give the CFRP its strength and rigidity; measured by Stress (mechanics) and Elastic modulus respectively. Unlike isotropic materials like steel and aluminum, CFRP has directional strength properties. The properties of CFRP depend on the layouts of the carbon fiber and the proportion of the carbon fibers relative to the polymer.^[3]