Carbon fiber is an inorganic polymer fiber with a carbon content of more than 95%. It has excellent physical and chemical properties such as low density, high strength, high temperature resistance, high chemical stability, fatigue resistance, and abrasion resistance. It has good electrical and thermal conductivity, electromagnetic Shielding performance and low thermal expansion coefficient. The advanced composite material with carbon fiber as the reinforcing material has a series of excellent properties such as high specific strength, high specific modulus, strong designability, high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, fatigue resistance and small thermal expansion coefficient. The excellent performance of carbon fiber and its composite materials make it widely used in aerospace, rail transit, vehicle manufacturing, weaponry, engineering machinery, infrastructure construction, marine engineering, petroleum engineering, wind energy, sports goods and other fields.
At present, the world's largest suppliers of carbon fiber and composite materials are mainly concentrated in Japan. Japan's carbon fiber industry ranks first in the world. The main leading companies are Japan Toray, Teijin and Mitsubishi Chemical. On March 28, 2018, Toray Japan announced the launch of a new carbon fiber composite molding process-CFRP (CarbonFiber Reinforced Plastics) new vacuum pressure molding process. This technology can improve the dimensional accuracy of parts while reducing the production process. Energy consumption. On November 1, 2018, Toray Corporation of Japan announced the development of a new type of TORAYCA®MX series carbon fiber, which has both high tensile strength and tensile modulus. The United States is one of the few developed countries that has mastered carbon fiber production technology after Japan, and is a major application country for carbon fiber and composite materials.
At present, China's high-performance carbon fiber material industry is developing rapidly, targeting the market mainly in the aerospace field, while focusing on new energy markets, including wind power, pressure vessels (hydrogen storage tanks), and potential new automotive lightweight materials markets.
In 2018, China's major carbon fiber companies have made breakthroughs in carbon fiber and composite related technologies and production capacity:
In September 2018, China's new generation of full carbon fiber composite subway car body was released globally, using carbon fiber reinforced composite material technology. Compared with traditional metal materials such as steel and aluminum alloy, the car body, cab and equipment of new generation carbon fiber subway car The cabins are reduced by more than 30%, the bogie frame is reduced by 40%, and the whole vehicle is reduced by 13%;
On August 17, 2018, the 48K large tow carbon fiber raw yarn independently developed by JLHX Carbon Fiber Technology Group and other three carbon fiber leaders successfully passed carbonization and continued mass production. The carbonization effect is far more than expected, and all indicators exceed the level of Toray T300 in Japan, which is another new carbon fiber product after the successful marketization of 24K carbon fiber.
R & D achievements in the field of carbon fiber continue to emerge, and most of the breakthrough results come from Japan and the United States. The latest cutting-edge technology not only focuses on carbon fiber production and preparation technology, but also projects in a wider range of applications such as lightweight automotive materials, 3D printing, and power generation materials. In addition, a series of achievements have also been made in the recycling of carbon fiber materials and the preparation of lignin-based carbon fibers. Japan attaches great importance to the development of carbon fiber technology, and enterprises, governments, and universities actively cooperate to promote the development of carbon fiber technology. In 2013, Japan promoted "innovative new structural materials and other technology development" under the framework of the "Future Pioneering Research Program"; Associate Professor Hoshii Hosei of Waseda University in Japan and others developed carbon fiber plastic (CFRP) and aluminum lightweight materials. New technology. The needle-shaped micro-protrusions are made on the aluminum surface, and the CFRP after heating and dissolving easily enters the micro-protrusion spaces. It helps to reduce the weight of automobiles and electronic equipment and is expected to be commercialized in 3 years. The United States has also continued to open several carbon fiber research projects. The Defense Advanced Research Agency (DARPA) started the advanced structural fiber project in 2006; in January 2019, the Satich Kumar team of the Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States successfully prepared nanometers with a mass fraction of more than 40% using polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers as raw materials. Microcrystalline cellulose (CNC) carbon fiber. The tensile strength of PAN / CNC-based carbon fiber is in the range of 1.8GPa ~ 2.3GPa, and the tensile modulus is in the range of 220GPa ~ 265GPa.
With the support of the national 973 project, China has made corresponding breakthroughs in the field of science and technology. As far as key technologies are concerned, it mainly includes the preparation technology of low-defect homogeneous raw silk, the pre-oxidized ring structure control technology, and the carbonization process. Crystal growth control technology, matching and coordination technology of each unit, equipment manufacturing technology, industrial integration technology, etc. On January 22, 2019, the team of Zhang Shouchun, a researcher at the SX Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, undertook the key deployment project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences around the preparation of T1000 ultra-high-strength carbon fiber, which had been accepted by experts organized by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The international high-performance fiber and composite materials market is ushering in an unprecedented period of development. China has made significant progress in key technologies, equipment, industrial production and downstream applications. In the future, China will continue to adopt key materials such as high-performance fibers and composite materials. With independent research and development of technology and breakthroughs in the industry, we will gradually realize the fundamental elimination of the restrictions imposed by high-performance fibers, the realization of import substitution, and the formation of industrial advantages.