How Strong is a Carbon Fiber Plate?
Carbon fiber plate is a composite material composed of carbon fiber strands and resin. The resulting product is light, yet strong and durable. Carbon fiber plates come in many different types to fit a variety of applications and industries, including automotive and aerospace. In this blog post, we will take a closer look at where carbon fiber plates are used and how strong they are in comparison to other materials.
Where Carbon Fiber Plates are Used?
Carbon fiber sheets and plates are used in a variety of industries, including automotive, aerospace, musical instruments, sporting goods, and medical devices.
In the automotive industry, carbon fiber plates can be used to reinforce parts of a car, such as doors, hoods, bumpers, fenders, and roof rails. Automobile manufacturers often use steel to build these components. Though less expensive, steel is much heavier than carbon fiber. In order to make vehicles such as race cars lighter, carbon fiber plates are often used in the place of many steel parts.
In the aerospace industry, carbon fiber plates are used to make aircraft parts, such as fuselage panels, control surfaces, and wingtips. The resulting components are lightweight, yet strong and durable. Carbon fiber has been widely adopted by the aviation industry because of its superior strength-to-weight ratio. Since carbon fiber has such a beautiful appearance, it is also an ideal choice for airplane interiors.
Similar to automobiles, materials like aluminum and steel are often used to manufacture airplanes. However, commercial airlines are progressively making greater use of carbon fiber composites to build lighter stronger aircraft bodies. This is because carbon fiber is significantly lighter than steel, lighter and stronger than aluminum, and can be formed into any shape.
How Strong Are Carbon Fiber Plates?
When comparing carbon fiber to other materials, such as steel and aluminum, many properties are considered. Here are just a few:
Modulus of elasticity = The “stiffness” of a material. The ratio of stress to strain for a material. The slope of the stress vs strain curve for material in its elastic region.
Ultimate tensile strength = the maximum stress a material can withstand before breaking.
Density = the material’s mass per unit volume.
Specific stiffness = Modulus of elasticity divided by the material’s density, used for comparing materials with dissimilar densities.
Specific tensile strength = Tensile strength divided by the material’s density.
Carbon fiber plates have a very high strength-to-weight ratio. This means that they are much stronger than other materials of the same weight. For example, the specific strength of carbon fiber is almost 4 times that of aluminum. This makes carbon fiber plates the ideal material for a wide variety of applications where weight is a factor.
While both carbon fiber and steel are very resistant to deformation, steel is 5 times denser than carbon fiber. The strength-to-weight of carbon fiber is almost twice that of steel.
Conclusion
In conclusion, carbon fiber plates are strong, light, and versatile composite materials with many uses. In a variety of industries, the strength to weight of carbon fiber provides significant performance advantages. No matter the application, Dragonplate offers the right carbon fiber plates for your needs. View our carbon fiber sheets and plates here.
