Carbon Fiber Knowledge
The latest from the world of advanced composites and carbon fiber technology.
Before a carbon fiber part flies, drives, or presses against a load, a laboratory must prove the material does what the engineer assumed. That proof is mechanical testing, and for composites it is far more demanding than testing homogeneous metals. Because carbon fiber composites are an
Every lightweighting project begins with the same question: which material should carry this load? The answer is rarely a single winner. Carbon fiber, aluminum, and high-strength steel each dominate a different corner of the design space, and the correct choice depends on geometry, load
In the production of carbon fiber composite parts, the single layer of flow media, peel ply, and vacuum bag that sits on top of the laminate is far from disposable convenience — it is the mechanism that controls how much resin leaves, how completely air is evacuated, and ultimately how
Transmission towers are among the most asset-heavy infrastructure in the power grid, and their crossarms — the horizontal arms that carry the conductor attachment points — are deceptively simple components with demanding engineering requirements. A crossarm must resist bending and buckl
Solar panel frames have been aluminum for as long as modules have been mass produced. Extruded 6063 alloy rails are cheap, proven, and recyclable, and they do the job on millions of panels worldwide. But the job is changing. Modules are getting larger — 2.5 m by 1.3 m panels are now sta
Compressed natural gas has quietly become one of the most practical lower-emission fuels for heavy commercial vehicles. Unlike battery-electric trucks, which still face payload penalties and charging downtime, CNG trucks can refuel in minutes and carry a fuel tank whose energy capacity
Ireland is a small country with an outsized role in global industry. It hosts Europe's largest medical device manufacturing cluster, a deep aerospace leasing and MRO presence anchored by Shannon, and some of the world's highest-density data center capacity. Each of these sectors has a g
Carbon fiber composites are entering a regulatory moment their makers never planned for. For thirty years, the industry optimized for performance and weight, treating scrap and end-of-life parts as a disposal afterthought. That is no longer tenable in the European Union. Reported in 202
South Africa holds a distinctive position in the global carbon fiber market. As the continent's most industrialized economy, it operates the deepest mining sector in Africa, the largest electricity grid south of the Sahara, and one of the most capable defense industrial bases on the con