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So you know of carbon fiber, or have heard of it. You might have heard some line in a superhero movie, "THIS STUFF IS STRONGER THAN STEEL! ITS A FANTASTIC MATERIAL!"
On some cars out there, you** probably also seen how some body panels are made of carbon fiber. ( or, if you're cheap like me, painted to look like it
). One of the questions that always bothered me before was this: "If carbon fiber or whatever is so strong, why isnt the whole dang car made of the stuff? Why not make airplanes from it?"
Carbon fiber is what's known as an*sotropic . What that essentially means is that the properties of the material depend on the direction in which the material is loaded or observed . There's a kind of grain pattern, a lot like wood, that controls how well a specimen will stand up to constant use. And, srs, carbon fiber is very much an*sotropic. (edit: an i so tropic)
What does that mean for the car? The stuff cant be feasibly used in every body piece since it might not be suitable for the type of loading that a particular piece is exposed to. so, carbon fiber is only applied to a few select pieces.
(Some manufacturers might take cost into consideration as well but thats another problem for another day)
On airplanes, its largely because of heat. Carbon fiber, compared to a lot of metals, doesnt exactly have a high service temperature; itll stop being usable very quickly as the temp goes up. Returned to forums after 5 year inactivity -- ignoring my responsibilities atm
Just discovered the sig function -- let me enjoy this LOL
So you know of carbon fiber, or have heard of it. You might have heard some line in a superhero movie, "THIS STUFF IS STRONGER THAN STEEL! ITS A FANTASTIC MATERIAL!"
On some cars out there, you** probably also seen how some body panels are made of carbon fiber. ( or, if you're cheap like me, painted to look like it
). One of the questions that always bothered me before was this: "If carbon fiber or whatever is so strong, why isnt the whole dang car made of the stuff? Why not make airplanes from it?"
Carbon fiber is what's known as an*sotropic . What that essentially means is that the properties of the material depend on the direction in which the material is loaded or observed . There's a kind of grain pattern, a lot like wood, that controls how well a specimen will stand up to constant use. And, srs, carbon fiber is very much an*sotropic. (edit: an i so tropic)
What does that mean for the car? The stuff cant be feasibly used in every body piece since it might not be suitable for the type of loading that a particular piece is exposed to. so, carbon fiber is only applied to a few select pieces.
(Some manufacturers might take cost into consideration as well but thats another problem for another day)
On airplanes, its largely because of heat. Carbon fiber, compared to a lot of metals, doesnt exactly have a high service temperature; itll stop being usable very quickly as the temp goes up. Returned to forums after 5 year inactivity -- ignoring my responsibilities atm
Just discovered the sig function -- let me enjoy this LOL
30-Jun-2015 01:58:40 - Last edited on 30-Jun-2015 01:59:39 by Boomboxx3
