Carbon Fiber Knowledge
The latest from the world of advanced composites and carbon fiber technology.
Spar caps are the load-carrying backbone of a wind turbine blade. These long carbon fiber laminates, bonded inside the blade shell on both the pressure and suction sides, take the full bending moment of the blade as it sweeps through the wind. For three decades, that role was filled by
For years, carbon fiber reinforced plastic was treated as a niche complication in trade policy — too small in volume and too complex in footprint to regulate. That assumption ended on August 12, 2026, when the European Union formally extended its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, or C
Compressed natural gas moves quietly under the radar of composite industry commentary, yet it sustains one of the largest recurring demand streams for carbon fiber pressure vessels in the world. Natural gas vehicles remain a mainstream choice for bus fleets, urban delivery trucks and ta
A crane boom is a paradox: the structure that lifts the load must also be lifted itself. Every tonne of boom dead weight consumes capacity that could otherwise carry paying cargo, and every meter of boom length amplifies the leverage that a tip weight exerts on the whole machine. This i
Switzerland manufactures carbon fiber components the way it manufactures watches: slowly, precisely, and with a tolerance budget that most competitors would consider excessive. The country consumes a modest volume of carbon fiber in global terms, but it occupies an outsized position in
Singapore has positioned itself as the composite maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) hub of Asia-Pacific, and that position matters more in 2026 than ever before. The region now operates the largest share of the global commercial fleet, and modern widebody aircraft such as the A350 a
When the MC-21 narrowbody airliner was designed, its wing was planned around imported carbon fiber and prepreg, sourced largely from Western suppliers. After 2022, those suppliers exited the Russian market, and the composite wing suddenly had no guaranteed material feed. The response be
A bolted composite joint looks permanent the day it is assembled, but it is quietly losing its clamp load from the first torque cycle. When a bolt is torqued against a carbon fiber laminate, the polymer matrix beneath the washer compresses, and because epoxy is viscoelastic it continues
Aluminum airframes are naturally electrically continuous: the fuselage skin conducts lightning currents away from fuel and systems, and the metal shell acts as a shield that keeps electromagnetic interference out of avionics bays. Carbon fiber composites broke that assumption. A CFRP sk