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You can utilize carbon fibre in many ways, and often, companies and individuals do. It’s everywhere, though it’s a substance that not many people know about or understand. Some individuals might not even know that it exists, even if they have clothing or furniture items made from it.
To expand carbon fibre knowledge, let’s take a moment today and go over some facts. You may know about some of these, but some of them may be a total surprise to you.
Some Companies Try to Make Fake Carbon Fiber
At the top of the list of things about carbon fiber you didn’t know, some companies indeed try to manufacture fake or knock-off versions. They might try to make clothing or furniture that looks like carbon fibre to the naked eye, but once you take a closer look at it, you will realize that it is a clever facsimile and not the real deal at all.
Why would a company do that, you may ask? The answer is rather simple. Carbon fibre is highly in demand in some circles, but some companies feel it is too expensive or difficult to provide the real thing.
They know that they can create materials that look like carbon fibre to someone who is not paying close attention. However, the difference is in the way that it performs.
Carbon fibre is quite flexible, and it will not rip apart like some of these knock-offs will. That’s usually when you’ll come to realize you have not purchased the real thing: it will rip or fray much faster and easier than the genuine product.
If you’re not sure if a company is giving you real carbon fibre, ask them directly. They should have no problem answering if they’re giving you the real material.
It is Stronger Than Steel
You may have heard before that carbon fibre is stronger than steel and scoffed at the notion, but it’s true. Carbon fibre has an elasticity modulus that is quite similar to steel. The difference is that it has a higher tensile strength.
When you look at carbon fibre and talk about its strength, what you want to look at to determine this is what some manufacturers call strength-to-weight ratio. With carbon fibre versus steel, carbon fibre’s strength-to-weight ratio is an astonishing five times higher.
That’s easily enough to outperform steel in various areas. If you have what the manufacturer calls high-grade carbon fibre, you get a ten-to-one ratio instead. That’s incredible, but it’s true.
The next time someone tells you carbon fibre is stronger than steel, you can believe them. It’s no wonder so many companies and industries use it.
It Is More Flexible Than You Might Suspect
Many strong materials are not flexible at all. That makes them suitable for some tasks but not others. Carbon fibre does not fall into that category, though, as flexibility is one of its primary qualities.
You get structural rigidity with carbon fibre, but you can also manipulate it without it ever breaking.
That’s why some companies continue experimenting with it. Even though they have already found many applications, they believe they can come up with others if they give some to their R and D team and give them a suitable discretionary budget.
The flexibility leads to some companies using it in veneers and similar aesthetic applications. That’s why you get some partially carbon fibre products, but the companies incorporate other materials as well.
It Has Been Around Longer Than You Realized
Most people also probably think that carbon fibre made its first appearance at some point in the last century. You’re not even close if you believe that, though.
Amazingly, carbon fibre can trace its roots back to the 1860s. These original carbon fibre elements were filaments for incandescent light bulb production.
The high heat resistance made them suitable, though they did not catch on quite as much as the original creator would have liked. About a hundred years later, mass production began when a company in 1958 decided to engage in carbon fibre experimentation.
These facts are not common knowledge, nor do as many people as you might think even know how useful and common carbon fibre is these days. Still, it continues to find its uses and advocates, and there’s plenty of reason to think it should be around for years to come.
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