Carbon fiber in automotive applications

Car is a very important means of transportation, which brings a lot of convenience to people's life, but also brings some problems, such as environmental pollution, energy crisis and so on.

At present, China has clearly defined the goal of reaching the peak of carbon and carbon neutrality, and has put forward new requirements for various industries, and carbon reduction and decarbonization have become the consensus of the automotive industry. Therefore, now in the production of automobiles, manufacturers will strive to achieve good energy conservation and emission reduction standards.

Data show that for every 10% weight loss in vehicle mass, fuel consumption is reduced by 0.7 liters per 100 kilometers, exhaust emissions are reduced by 7%, the braking distance is shortened by 3 to 7 meters, and zero acceleration is shortened by 0.5 seconds.

Carbon fiber application advantages

Compared with other lightweight materials such as high-strength steel, aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy and high-performance plastics, carbon fiber and its composites have superior physical and mechanical properties.

* With minimum density, maximum tensile strength, fatigue resistance, impact resistance, corrosion resistance, shock absorption, automotive lightweight;
* When the car is impacted, it can fully absorb the impact energy, play the role of buffering and absorbing energy, and greatly improve personal safety;
* Compared with low carbon steel, carbon fiber can achieve weight reduction of 55%~60% and fuel efficiency improvement of 30%~40% under the premise of ensuring vehicle strength and safety performance, which is an important means of energy saving and emission reduction;
* With high designability, can be made according to different needs to meet the needs of customers personalized design products.

Carbon fiber body

Carbon fiber has enough strength and stiffness to make it the lightest material for car bodies.

It is estimated that the application of carbon fiber composite materials can reduce the mass of the automobile body by 40% to 60%, which is equivalent to 1/3 to 1/6 of the mass of the steel structure.

At present, most of the racing cars and some modified cars use carbon fiber composite material body, which reduces the weight at the same time, because the composite material collision reduces the generation of debris, thus improving the safety.

Carbon fiber wheel hub

As one of the important components to ensure the safety of the car, the hub must not only bear the weight and load of the vehicle, but also transmit the drive and torque.

This requires very high quality of car wheels. Carbon fiber composites have excellent mechanical properties, heat resistance and durability, and can replace metal as wheel hub materials.

At the same time, the use of carbon fiber materials reduces the hub mass, helping to reduce wheel inertia, so that the vehicle has faster start, stop and steering speed.

Application of brake system

Automotive brake lining mainly uses asbestos material, which is easy to friction and produce high temperature during braking, resulting in thermal degradation of performance, and the asbestos dust produced has carcinogenic hazards.

Carbon fiber composite material has high specific strength, good wear resistance and good heat resistance, and can be used as a substitute for asbestos in automotive brake pads.

The carbon fiber brake disc can reduce the speed from 300KM/h to 50Km/h within 50m. Carbon fiber brake disc can withstand the high temperature of 2500℃, and the performance is stable.

Carbon fiber drive shaft for cars

The force situation of automobile transmission shaft is more complex, especially to bear a lot of torque, and the material performance requirements are higher.

Carbon fiber reinforced composite material has the characteristics of anisotropy, high specific strength and relatively low specific modulus, which can better meet the needs of use instead of metal material as the drive shaft.

Carbon fiber drive shaft not only reduces weight by 60%, but also has better fatigue resistance and durability.

The application of air intake system

Carbon fiber composite material as the automotive air intake system material, on the one hand can reduce the weight, to achieve the effect of lightweight; On the other hand, carbon fiber materials are easy to be processed into various curved shapes, and the surface is smooth, which can effectively improve the intake efficiency.

Carbon fiber decorative parts

Carbon fiber composite material has a good vibration absorption effect, has a large buffer effect on impact, and reduces the impact debris generation, improve the safety.

The use of carbon fiber interior and exterior decoration materials, in addition to automotive lightweight, also simplifies the parts manufacturing process, reduces parts processing, assembly, maintenance costs, and reduces production costs.

* In addition to the above aspects, carbon fiber is also widely used in chassis, engine hatch, gearbox, fuel storage tank, bumper, rearview mirror shell, interior door panels, car seats and so on.

* To sum up, carbon fiber is widely used in the automotive field, which can greatly improve the durability and safety of automobiles, and greatly enrich the technical level of the automobile manufacturing industry. The application of carbon fiber can better meet people's requirements for car performance and provide people with safer and more comfortable travel services.