Carbon Fiber Knowledge
The latest from the world of advanced composites and carbon fiber technology.
Denmark's carbon fiber market in 2026 is defined by two world-leading industries: wind energy and maritime shipping. Denmark is the headquarters of Vestas — the world's largest wind turbine manufacturer — and hosts one of Europe's densest clusters of wind component suppliers, test facil
China carbon fiber export controls have become one of the defining supply chain risks for the global composites industry in 2026. China now accounts for roughly 50% of global carbon fiber production capacity and an even larger share of industrial-grade output, making its export policies
The United States carbon fiber market in 2026 is the largest and most strategically contested in the world. North America consumed roughly 28,000 tonnes of carbon fiber in 2025, and the United States accounts for the overwhelming majority of that volume, driven by the highest-value appl
Carbon fiber honeycomb sandwich panel manufacturing is one of the most efficient ways to build large, flat, and torsionally stiff structures at a fraction of the weight of solid laminates. A sandwich panel works by separating two thin carbon fiber face skins with a lightweight core, dra
Fiber volume fraction (FVF, Vf) is the most direct link between a composite's internal structure and its mechanical performance. A change of a few percent in Vf shifts tensile modulus, compressive strength, and interlaminar shear strength by measurable amounts — which is why aerospace a
Automated composite manufacturing — automated fiber placement (AFP), filament winding, and braiding — runs on a narrow family of precursor materials. For decades the default was standard unidirectional prepreg slit into tape, or dry tow used with a separate resin injection step. Carbon
When wind turbine designers talk about composite materials, the conversation usually centers on rotor blades. Yet every turbine also carries a second family of composite structures: the nacelle cover that encloses the gearbox, generator, and yaw system, and the spinner that caps the rot
On every orbital launch, the payload fairing is the first major component to fly and the last to be seen: it encloses the satellite during ascent, carries the aerodynamic and acoustic loads of the launch environment, and separates in two halves once the vehicle reaches space. For a mode
The wing skin is the largest single structural component of a modern airliner's airframe, and on current-generation programs it is also the most visible demonstration of carbon fiber's structural capability. On the Airbus A350 XWB and the Airbus A220, upper and lower wing skins are manu