Carbon Fiber Knowledge
The latest from the world of advanced composites and carbon fiber technology.
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
Cryogenic testing of carbon fiber composites is the discipline that separates hydrogen storage hardware that works from hardware that leaks, cracks, or bursts in service. Liquid hydrogen boils at −253°C, and carbon fiber reinforced polymers behave very differently at that temperature th
Truck manufacturers have therefore long looked for weight reduction in the areas where structural margins allow it, and the cab is one of the most attractive targets: it is large, it sits above the aerodynamic flow field, and it does not carry primary chassis loads. Carbon fiber composi
Carbon fiber deployable booms exist to solve both problems at once: they stow in a compact coil, then extend to lengths of several meters once the satellite reaches orbit, carrying instruments, solar sails, or antennas to a position far from the bus. Their defining material property — a
Fast craft — patrol boats, pilot boats, rescue vessels, and offshore racing hulls — are defined by one engineering tension: they must be light enough to accelerate hard and plane efficiently, yet stiff and tough enough to survive wave impacts at 40 knots. Carbon fiber sandwich construct
Wind turbine blades are the largest industrial consumer of large-tow carbon fiber in the world outside China. A modern 100-meter plus blade bends under gravity and wind loads, and its structural performance comes from layers of unidirectional carbon fiber in the spar caps and shear webs
Between 2024 and 2026, two of the world's largest carbon fiber producers announced capacity expansions that reset expectations for the high-end segment of the market. Toray, the global volume leader, closed 2025 with production capacity of roughly 63,770 tonnes per year across its plant