Carbon fiber is composed of carbon atoms bonded together to form a long chain. The fibers are extremely stiff, strong, and light, and are used in many processes to create excellent building materials. Carbon fiber material comes in a variety of raw building-blocks, including yarns, uni-directional, weaves, braids, and several others, which are in turn used to create composite parts. Within each of these categories are many sub-categories of further refinement. For example, different types of carbon fiber weaves result in different properties for the composite part, both in fabrication, as well as final product. Strength, Stiffness, and Comparisons with Other Materials Carbon fiber is extremely strong. It is typical in engineering to measure the benefit of a material in terms of strength to weight ratio and stiffness to weight ratio, particularly in structural design, where added weight may translate into increased lifecycle costs or unsatisfactory performance. Carbon fiber composites are also significantly more expensive than traditional materials. Working with carbon fiber requires a high skill level and many intricate processes to produce high quality building materials (for example, solid carbon sheets, sandwich laminates, tubes, etc). Very high skill level and specialized tooling and machinery are required to create custom-fabricated, highly optimized parts and assemblies. Many different types of materials are used to create composites like Honeycomb, Foams, and Wood etc. Uses and Applications Carbon fiber composites provide an alternative to conventional materials, for example steel, aluminum, and fiberglass, for the construction of lightweight trusses and frame structures. The first construction method for these types of carbon fiber structures is using tubes and gussets. Uni-direction carbon fiber can be added to individual members to increase bending/axial stiffness and strength. Likewise, gusset thickness and geometry can be adjusted to ensure proper shear stress transfer through the joints. An alternative lightweight, and often cost-effective, carbon fiber construction method is using our patent-pending connectors and pultruded carbon fiber tubes In addition, the skills necessary for construction of this type of structure are relatively easy to master. Market survey Indian Carbon Fiber Composites Market is forecast to Reach USD 53 million in nearby future. Once the domain of aerospace and space applications in India, carbon fiber composites are increasingly being used in a host of new industrial applications where material cost is secondary to performance, high strength and reduced weight considerations. Indian carbon fiber composites market poised for dramatic growth and expects to reach USD 53 million by 2018. The industrial market is expected to witness very strong growth, followed by aerospace segment. Consumer goods market expects to post slow growth between 2013 and 2018. Currently, the market for carbon fiber composites is estimated at $10 billion (USD) globally, and observers expect that it could reach as high as $40 billion by 2022. Aspiring and established carbon fiber manufacturers and a variety of marketing partners are positioning themselves to meet the vastly increasing need for raw fiber and fibrous reinforcement products. After 2020, further cost reductions – primarily driven by the hybridization of composite components (combining continuous fibers and other materials such as metal or short fibers) – will lead to a significant market expansion. The expectation is that these hybrids can be produced with processes similar to pure composites. The volume of high-strength Carbon Fibre components produced worldwide is set to grow by 17% a year until 2020. In key sectors of industry, like automotives, aeronautics and wind energy, we are already seeing the use of large quantities of continuous fiber-reinforced components. With the growing importance of lightweight construction across various industries, there will be strong growth in demand for these products going forward, assuming that production costs fall.
