Carbon Fiber: Tough as Steel but Flexible Like Hair

Probably most of us think of carbon fiber as a modern “rocket science” material used to make bicycle frames, hockey sticks, golf clubs, motorcycle helmets, or aircraft components. But Joseph Swan, an English chemist, physicist, and inventor, who pioneered the development of electric lighting, used carbon filaments to light his bulbs in 1878. Thomas Edison refined the use of carbon filaments with more efficient vacuums to create the light bulbs we know today. The processes used to manufacture carbon fiber today were invented around 1963.

We talk about carbon fiber being five times stronger than steel, and twice as stiff, with exceptional tensile strength (resistant to breaking or tearing), yet it’s less dense than steel and is flexible enough to wrap around a pipe 12 inches in diameter. It’s also five times lighter than steel. So what is this miraculous stuff anyway?

Carbon fiber is made from crystalline carbon filaments thinner than a strand of hair, that when woven together like rope hemp becomes one of the strongest materials we have for industrial and construction uses. All carbon fiber products are a composite of other materials—crystallized carbon combined with an epoxy resin, though primarily with polyacrylonitrile, a synthetic acrylic resin that can withstand temperatures up to 572 °F.

The process to create carbon fiber is chemical and mechanical. Long strands of carbon are drawn and then heated to a very high temperature, with assurance that the fibers do not interact with oxygen, which would cause the carbon to burn. At the point of carbonization, the carbon atoms of the strands vibrate violently and expel the non-carbon atoms. The carbon fibers are oxidized to make them more receptive to binding with typical coating compounds like epoxy, polyester, nylon, and others.

Once processed, the fibers can be woven into sheets (cloth) strong enough for use in new construction, the restoration of concrete slabs, foundations, basement walls, other building applications, or exterior retaining walls where the stability of a structure has become compromised.

Carbon Fiber Support is a top supplier of all things carbon fiber. Whether you’re a professional contractor or homeowner who likes to get their hands dirty, we have all the carbon fiber products you need to repair the concrete on your property. Contact us today to talk about the options you have for top-notch concrete repair solutions.