Future Development Trends of Carbon Fiber

With the advancement of science and technology and the continuous improvement of composite technology, the performance and technology of carbon fiber composite materials have been continuously improved, and their applications have been gradually expanded. It is not only used in military and industrial fields, but also its applications in energy, transportation, information and communication, and building materials are constantly increasing. The development hotspots of carbon fiber mainly include the following aspects.

1. Development of high-performance, low-cost carbon fiber

In recent years, carbon fiber production companies worldwide have been developing high-performance, low-cost carbon fibers. For example, Toray Industries, Inc. in Japan has focused on developing varieties with tensile strength of 4000-5000 MPa, while maintaining a price comparable to T300 carbon fiber. From the perspective of advanced composite material development needs, T300 carbon fiber with a tensile strength of 3530 MPa can no longer meet the demand, so T300 carbon fiber is gradually being phased out. In addition, to reduce the cost of carbon fiber, Toray Industries, Inc. is also vigorously developing "quasi" large-tow carbon fibers of 18K and 24K. The price of large-tow carbon fiber is 30%-40% lower than that of small-tow carbon fiber, while the performance is comparable to that of small-tow carbon fiber, and some are even higher. In recent years, large-tow carbon fiber has achieved significant development due to its price advantage.

2. Intensive research and development of carbon fiber and its composite materials with high thermal conductivity

The development of high technologies such as national defense and electronics industries requires materials with high thermal conductivity so that heat can be dissipated quickly during the application process. Research on carbon fiber with high thermal conductivity has become an important development direction in carbon fiber research. For example, BP Amoco has successfully developed a pitch-based carbon fiber with a high thermal conductivity ratio. Copper is a metal material with the highest thermal conductivity, with a thermal conductivity of 394 W/(m.K), while the pitch-based carbon fiber developed by BP Amoco can reach 800-1000 W/(m.K), which is 2.0-2.5 times the thermal conductivity of copper. The thermal conductivity of carbon fiber reinforced resin matrix composites prepared from this carbon fiber can reach 50-150 W/(m.K), while the thermal conductivity of general die-cast metals is between 50-100 W/(m.K).

3. Research and development of carbon fibers with different thermal expansion coefficients

Carbon fiber is mainly used to prepare composite materials, and the types of resin matrices used for compounding are diverse, and their thermal expansion coefficients vary greatly. In order to meet the needs of different composite material preparations, preparing carbon fibers with different thermal expansion coefficients is an important development direction in carbon fiber research and production. For example, Grafil Corporation in Japan has developed a series of carbon fibers with different thermal expansion coefficients. The thermal expansion coefficients of these carbon fibers cover a wide range, from (-0.5*10^-6) to (0.5*10^-6K-1), meeting the needs of various composite material preparations.