Materials Process Selection - Comparing Carbon Fiber with Traditional Metals - Essay Example

Comparing Carbon fibre with other traditional metals Name Course Lecturer Date Introduction. Carbon fibre is a material that is fibrous in nature that is made up of thin layers of carbon which are twisted together and subjected to certain heat treatment to form a graphite structure. This material offers a much stronger component due to more layers of carbon and at the same time it gives lighter material for building works due to heat treatment which in return provides a perfect solution. Carbon fibre is of different form and type which is basically determined by the material components making up the carbon. As result carbon fibre is of two type namely pan carbon fibre and pitch carbon fibre (Chung 1994).Pan Carbon fibre is as result of carbonization of polycrylonitrile materials thus generating fibres of high tensile power coupled with high elastic value. This materials are widely used us structural materials and substance in aerospace,automotive and also industrial areas. Secondly we have the pitch carbon fibre which is made up of carbonized oil or coal thus giving materials of varying levels of elastic values and as a result this gives substance of high stiff value with both high heat and electric conductivity(Japan carbon fibre association, 2012) Advantages of carbon fibre as compared to other traditional materials a) Light in weight Japan Carbon Fibre Association confirms that Carbon fibre is made up layers of carbon which are compressed together through heat treatment to come up with lighter materials as compared to other traditional materials like steel and aluminium. Other materials are made up of large mass of material thus being heavy as compared to carbon fibre which is fibrous. This property makes it possible to make vehicles which are light in weight as compared to steels. Thorough analysis by the automotive engineers indicates that use of carbon fibre in building vehicles can reduce the weight of vehicle by 60 percent hence reducing the total weight of vehicle. Its therefore observed that manufacture of this light vehicles can reduce the fuel consumption by 30%.This property can there be maximized in automotive industry to make vehicles which are efficient and light in weight. This double up to development of more fuel efficient engines thus reducing maintenance cost.Steel metal have large masses of component hence its weight remain high as compared to carbon fibre, Katarina, 2013 findings shows that it is possible to reduce the weight of heavy vehicle from 40 percent to 60 percent if manufacturers move from use of other metallic materials to composite materials. This element can be graphically represented as in the diagram below: b) Strong and Durable According to (Donnet, 1998) findings, compared to other traditional materials carbon fibre is much stronger and durable. Due to compression of carbon layers the material attains a high fatigue resistance value thus raising its breaking point.This property is well realized by the fact that carbon fibre have a high tensile and elastic capability which is not attainable in other materials. Other than its uses its therefore important to view carbon fibre material as reinforcement substance due to its high performance. In automotive field this phenomena has resulted to it being widely used in making aerospace materials and also making materials for industrial field. Its therefore imperative to note that vehicle bodyworks made of carbon fibre are more stronger and can endure greater forces since the materials are fatigue resist. Carbonization of polycrylonitrile in more than one layer ensures the carbon fibre is resistance to external forces thus giving it a plus in manufacturing of vehicle body works due to the long term effect and high performance. In the graph below it can be clearly established that the level of durability and strength rises as in the following order: Aluminium, Steel and carbon fibre recording the highest c) Excellent Mechanical properties Carbon fibre has excellent and very strong mechanical properties as compared to other traditional materials. In clear terms mechanical properties can be evaluated into both tensile and elastic properties. Carbon fibre has high tensile value as compared to other materials. As a result it makes it stronger and give it an upper hand for use as structural materials. The more the carbon content the more tensile the material is. The fact that it has a high tensile property makes it more flexible in building works thus can create vehicle bodies with different shapes. Vehicles have different models and this is mostly viewed in form of different body works this is widely observed if the materials used have greater flexibility. The fact that the materials are made of layers also makes carbon fibre to have a high elastic level.This makes the material stretchable and expandable. As a result automotive engineers observe this as an element that can be used to support replacement of traditional materials since other materials like steel are not easily stretchable hence limiting the extent to which the different vehicle bodies can be achieved, In the graph below there is a relative similarity between elasticity and tensile nature of the material. The fact that carbon fibre has high elastic and tensile properties makes it to have a higher rating as compared to other materials. d) High thermal resistance Chung, 1994 asserts that Carbon fiber can be made of carbonized coal or oil. This property makes carbon fibre have a high thermal resistance as compared to other materials. Vehicles bodies are exposed to tough conditions thus this property helps to be a perfect replacement for other materials. Carbon fibre displays a low thermal expansion feature and this is important in the automotive industry. e) High Electric conductivity. Japan Carbon fiber manufacturer association findings show that Carbon fibre has an advantage by the fact that it has a high electric conductivity advantage. This is because it has a factor of volumetric impedance which is not in other materials. Compared to steel the carbon fibre has a high electromagnetic shielding wave which doubles up to high electric conductivity. An increase in fiber content translates to high electromagnetic shielding capabilities. Competitive Nature of composites in the Automotive Industry. Sae international is an international Body that evaluates manufacturing of various vehicle models. In the article it’s clear that to meet a high production target of vehicles carbon fibre is being replaces by aluminium. In order to make carbon fibres many materials and resources are need and as a result less materials can be made thus this translates to longer manufacturing time. The fact that large volume of material is needed this as a result makes carbon fibre to be labour intensive thus aluminium takes precedence. Dan Carney attributes this to the need for high metal matrix composite in building high price road vehicles. In production carbon fibre technique fails to realize the need for minimal material weight use potential which is essential in production. The Large volume of materials required translates to high cost of production viewed from both money and time perspective In making of race cars weight is a key factor and as depicted by Ferrari manufacturer and as a result other materials come in handy in manufacturing other parts in order to attain the required weight. In any area of production time and cost determines the level of output. As a result its clear indication that incase a company wants to produce more and at lower cost one has to switch from carbon fibre to aluminium in production Carbon fibre has a plus for strength due to high stiffness value but this factor seems to contravene the achievement of hand built vehicles. Aluminium being an alloy has a great advantage when it comes to building or manufacturing of this class of vehicles. Katarina,2013 notes that carbon fibre is not widely is not widely used due to lack of proper manufacturing process and heavy requirement for material thus making it difficult for use in heavy production. Conclusion Notably it’s clear to assert that carbon fibre is ideal in motor vehicles body building in areas where strength and weight is of great importance. Manufacturers should therefore evaluate their need in production and there ultimate goal so that to make the right decisions. Use of carbon fibre by itself is not the principle element but should be viewed as a way to reinforce composite materials. Reference List Chung,D. 1994.Carbon fibre composites, 1st edition.Butterworth-heinemann, Oxford. Donnet, J. 1998.Carbon fibre, 1st edition.CRC Press, Florida. Japan carbon manufacturing Association on the web 2012.History. http://www.carbonfiber.gr.jp/english/field/ Katarina,U. 2013.Designing in carbon fibre composite.Chalmers Reproservices, Sweden. Read More