Is Carbon Fiber Bulletproof?

Over the years, Carbon fiber has proven to be one of the best among its counterparts in strength,

weight, corrosion resistance, etc.

Day after Day, tons of machines and equipment are produced to make life great and amazing.

And these machines and equipment, which are found in industries as well as in our homes are made up of components and materials, which make them what they are. One of these many components used in the production of these machines and equipment is Carbon Fiber.

What is Carbon Fiber?

Carbon Fiber also known as graphite fiber is a material made up of extremely strong, thin, long threads of pure carbon atoms made by pyrolyzing of a synthetic fiber such as rayon, etc.

Carbon Fibers consist of 90% and above carbon contents and are about 5 to 10 micrometers in diameter.

How is Carbon Fiber Made?

Carbon Fiber is produced from organic polymers. Thus, it is under the classification of polymers. These polymers consist of long strong threads of molecules bound together by carbon atoms. 90%of carbon Fibers being produced are made from a process called the Polyacrylonitrile(PAN) process while 10% of carbon Fibers are manufactured from other processes like the rayon process. The raw materials used in producing carbon Fibers are the precursors. Carbon fibers are created when precursors are heated to high temperatures in the absence of oxygen. The high temperature causes the fiber atoms to vibrate in such a way that all non-carbon atoms are nearly removed. This process is known as the carbonization process. After this process, the remaining fiber is made up of chain-like atoms that are tightly interlocked.

Properties of Carbon Fiber

Carbon Fibers have some specific features or characteristics it possesses and they include:

1) High stiffness and toughness

2) lightweight

3)High Chemical resistance

4)low abrasion

5)low thermal expansion

6)Good electricity conduction

7)Chemical resistance and stability

8) High-temperature tolerance

What are the uses of Carbon Fiber?

The uses of carbon Fiber on Earth are numerous. This shows how important carbon Fiber is in the production of machines and equipment. The uses of carbon fiber can be seen in:

1) Domestic Uses:

The introduction of machines made the domestic lives of humans a beautiful experience and carbon fiber is a great contributor to this experience. Carbon fibers are used in the production of household equipment like that beautiful shiny black bathtub in your home, shiny black wallets, coffee tables where you enjoy your morning coffees, iPhone cases, writing pens, pocket knives, wristwatches, rings, etc. The products made from carbon Fiber are much so I can’t exhaust them.

2) Sport and Gaming Use: If you are an athlete, pay attention to this part because I am going to show you most of your sporting equipment that consists of carbon Fiber. Carbon Fibers are one of the main components of sporting equipment due to their lightweight nature, carbon fiber is used in the production of superior black protective helmets, bicycles, ice hockey sticks, tennis racquets, etc.

3) Aircraft Uses:

The varieties of aircraft have many of its parts made of Carbon Fiber. The construction of aircraft which carry millions across the globe must possess very strong but lightweight properties because of the need to avert the force of gravity. The lightweight nature of the carbon fiber made it a good building material for the creation of aircraft structures such as in the production of helicopters, fighter jet structures, and so on.

4) Automobile Uses: The automobile industries incorporate carbon Fibers in the production of automobiles. So it is so possible that your Chevrolet car is made up of carbon Fiber. In fact,30% of car parts are made with carbon fiber. Some of these car parts made with carbon Fiber are seat frames, bonnets, roofs, rear diffusers, etc.

5) Medical Uses: Carbon Fiber showcased its great importance to medical personnel and the world at large in the running of X-rays. Carbon fibers are ‘radiolucent’ which entails that they are transparent to x-ray. Therefore, carbon Fibers are used to produce the imaging part of an X-ray machine. So whenever you are conducting an X-ray just bear in mind that without carbon fibers, the x-machine won’t be efficient.

Artificial limbs are also created from carbon Fibers when the human limb has been damaged or amputated.

6)Military Uses: Right from the protective helmets, helicopters, and missiles used by the military have some of their parts made with carbon fibers, this entails that not even the military can do without Carbon Fibers.

7) Musical Uses: Guitars made with Carbon fibers are gradually replacing the traditional wooden guitars although wooden guitars are still rampant because carbon fiber tools are costly. Guitars made with carbon fiber are lightweight and more durable than wooden guitars.

Carbon Fiber Vs Steel

Steel is commonly used in the production of machines and equipment just as carbon fiber.

But Carbon fiber has always showcased beautiful properties that its fellow counterparts like steel lacks. When it comes to strength, Carbon fiber is way stronger than steel even though steel has more weight than carbon fiber. Carbon fiber is lightweight but stronger than many of its counterparts that weighs more.

Another beautiful property of carbon fiber is corrosion resistance. The presence of oxygen can cause corrosion or more simply rust to steel but carbon fiber is resistant to this, making it corrosion-free. This means that forever and ever carbon fiber will continue to be beautiful.

Carbon Fiber Vs Fiberglass

Carbon fiber continued to show its efficiency compared to its counterparts. Another counterpart of carbon fiber is fiberglass. The carbon fiber and fiberglass share some similar features but the carbon fiber has outstanding features compared to fiberglass. Carbon Fiber is far stronger than fiberglass. Studies have shown that Carbon Fiber is more than 20 times stronger than fiberglass.

Although fiberglass possesses one of the outstanding and essential properties of Carbon Fiber it is lightweight. Carbon fiber still weighs less than Fiberglass and is much stronger than it notwithstanding the weight. While fiberglass may contract in cold temperatures carbon fiber materials do not contact in cold temperatures.

Is Carbon Fiber bulletproof?

Yes, Carbon Fiber is truly bulletproof and has shown great significance in our lives as humans. Carbon fiber is more durable, and efficient and produces outstanding results in the manufacturing of machines that make life easy peasy.