Carbon Fiber Knowledge
The latest from the world of advanced composites and carbon fiber technology.
Wind blade spar caps are the primary load-carrying members of the blade: long, thick laminates that run from root to tip and resist the flapwise bending loads that dominate turbine operation. As rotor diameters have grown past 100 meters — with blades of 80-90 meters becoming standard f
eVTOL aircraft represent one of the fastest-growing structural applications for carbon fiber composites. A typical four-to-five-passenger airframe carries 100-200 kg of composite structure, and programs now in development expect production rates in the hundreds to thousands of aircraft
T1100-grade carbon fiber — defined by tensile strength in the 6,500-7,000 MPa range — has historically been produced almost exclusively by dry-jet wet spinning (DJWS). The process, in which the spinning dope exits the spinneret through an air gap before entering the coagulation bath, wa
Vitrimer and recyclable resin systems are the most promising answer to the composite industry's end-of-life problem. Carbon fiber composites are valued for their strength-to-weight ratio, but the thermoset matrices that give them structural integrity are permanently crosslinked — once c
ASTM D30 standards for carbon fiber composites define how the industry measures tensile, compressive, shear, flexural, and delamination properties, and how those measurements are reported in datasheets and qualification reports. When a supplier claims a tensile strength of 2,500 MPa, th
AS9100D certification is the entry ticket to the aerospace supply chain. The standard, published by the International Aerospace Quality Group and aligned with ISO 9001, adds aviation-specific requirements for product safety, configuration management, counterfeit part prevention, and spe
The aerospace composite rate ramp to 2028 is reshaping the carbon fiber supply chain. After years of production constrained by pandemic recovery and program delays, commercial aircraft manufacturers are now signaling sustained output increases across single-aisle, twin-aisle, and freigh
Thermoplastic composite joining has become the critical production question in modern aerospace manufacturing. Carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastics — the material of choice for next-generation fuselage barrels, wing components, and automotive body structures — can be joined two fundam
Hydrogen permeation barrier coatings are the unsung safety layer of modern composite pressure vessels. The hydrogen molecule is the smallest in existence, and it diffuses through polymers at rates far higher than natural gas or air. In a Type IV tank, where a polymer liner and carbon fi