High-performance fiber refers to chemical fiber with special physical and chemical structure, performance and function. It usually has extremely high tensile strength and Young's modulus. It also has excellent properties such as high temperature resistance, radiation resistance, acid and alkali resistance, and flame resistance. Common varieties include carbon fiber, aramid fiber, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber, basalt fiber, polyphenylene sulfide fiber, etc. High-performance fiber composite materials are made of high-performance fibers as reinforcement materials and resin as a matrix. The processed composite materials have the characteristics of light weight, high strength and high modulus, fatigue resistance, corrosion resistance, and easy processing and molding. They are widely used in Aerospace, defense and military industry, rail transportation, energy industry and other fields have played a major role in both military and civilian fields, profoundly affecting national security, social economy, science and technology and human life. Therefore, as a representative and most widely used branch of advanced fiber composite materials, high-performance fiber composite materials have become an indispensable key material in the development of high-tech, national defense and advanced weaponry and other strategic industries.
At present, the global superior companies in high-performance fiber and composite materials are mainly concentrated in Japan, the United States and Europe. Japan has Toray, Teijin and Mitsubishi Chemicals three major carbon fiber and composite material suppliers, which not only occupies half of the global carbon fiber production capacity, but also monopolizes the production technology of carbon fiber products for high-end fields; DuPont of the United States dominates the aramid market, regardless of Whether it is the technical level of high-end products or the price level of low-end products, it has an absolute advantage over other companies; Europe has a pivotal position in the field of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers, and DSM of the Netherlands has the highest output and the best quality in the world. UHMWPE fiber supplier; China has initially realized the industrial production of a variety of high-performance fibers and composite materials, and has a certain industrial scale, but high performance in high strength, high modulus and high-end fields There is still a big gap between the key technologies of fiber industrialization and product stability compared with developed countries.
High-performance fiber is an important basic material for the development of high-tech industries such as defense military, aerospace and other industries. In recent years, with the continuous decline in the price of high-performance fibers and the promotion of national energy-saving and environmental protection policies, the application range of high-performance fibers in the civilian field has been increasingly expanded. Increasingly, it has become a new economic growth point. Today, global high-performance fibers and composite materials are developing in the direction of advanced manufacturing technology, low cost, high-performance materials, multi-function and expanded applications. In 2019, countries around the world have made great achievements in the exploration of cutting-edge technology and application potential development in the field of high-performance fibers and composite materials.
U.S. high-performance fiber and composite materials manufacturers and companies and R & D status
The United States is the first country to conduct carbon fiber and aramid fiber research, and has the world's leading industrial chain of high-performance fibers, composite materials and composite products in various fields. At present, the United States has unique advantages in the application of high-performance fibers in the aerospace and military industries, and pressure vessels, wind power, and automobiles are also developing rapidly. Carbon fiber occupies the largest market share of high-performance fiber materials in the United States, and is mainly used in the field of defense and security. In recent years, UHMWPE fibers have also become the "new favorite" of the US Defense Research Department.
Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber has the lowest density and highest strength among the developed fibers. It is currently the fiber with the best ballistic resistance and has an irreplaceable role in the field of defense and military industry. In September 2019, the US Army Research Laboratory stated that it is preparing a new material for body armor through a new technology that combines ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene with silica nanoparticles. This new material has higher strength and is Ideal material for absorbing bullets and other shell impacts. In November 2019, U.S. officials stated that the U.S. Special Forces are currently testing a light combat armor. It is one of the results of the previous "Tactical Assault Light Operation Suit (TALOS)". This light armor is a kind of " The "light polyethylene limb protective armor" is both strong and lightweight, and is 25% lighter than the current standard protective equipment. Compared with the standard infantry body armor (19% body coverage), this new type of combat armor has a body coverage More than 44% can effectively protect the soldier's shoulder, front side, forearm and span.
After nearly 40 years of development in the US aerospace field, high-performance fiber materials have entered a mature application period. The design and manufacturing experience of the United States in this field has been very rich. It has successfully developed various composite structural parts such as full carbon fiber / epoxy composite fuselages. The quality of carbon fiber composite materials in Boeing 747 has reached 50%. In the future, the main development direction of high-performance fibers and composite materials used in the aerospace field is the development of structured and functional materials and the development and application of low-cost and integrated technologies. On March 15, 2019, the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), in collaboration with the University of Arkansas and the University of Miami, developed a 3D carbon fiber / epoxy composite material, and developed a customized direct inkjet 3D printing device that can be used to process aviation Short fiber epoxy resin composite structural parts in the aerospace field. The development of this material provides technical support for the manufacturing of next-generation multifunctional unmanned aerial vehicle structural parts. In addition to research in key areas such as aerospace and military, the United States also attaches great importance to the application research of high-performance fibers and composite materials in other fields.
On October 29, 2019, OceanGate announced that it plans to use carbon fiber and titanium to design and build two new types of submersibles to meet the growing expedition, research, and commercial needs of deep-sea manned submersibles. In the automotive field, General Motors of the United States announced in 2019 that it will start using carbon fiber compartments in the GM Sierra pickup GMC Sierra Denali 1500 "and" GMC Sierra AT4 1500 ". This pickup truck (CarbonPro) is jointly developed by GM and Teijin For the first time, carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastics were used for mass-produced automotive structural parts. This "CarbonPro" has a weight reduction of about 25% compared with other pickup trucks, and has first-class dent resistance, scratch resistance and corrosion resistance. Sex.
While advancing the market application of high-performance fibers and composite materials, American researchers have also been committed to the research of new structures and new functional materials. In June 2019, the Ajayan team at Rice University in the United States developed a layered composite material reinforced with high dielectric, high thermal conductivity and high temperature resistant aromatic polyamide fibers. The material has a dielectric constant of up to 6.3, a thermal conductivity of up to 2.4W · m-1 · K-1, a breakdown strength of up to 292MV · m-, and a Young's modulus of 11GPa, which is expected to be used in high-temperature energy storage devices in.
As a reinforced material of composite materials, high-performance fibers have their own mechanical properties that greatly affect the performance of fiber composite materials. For this reason, the Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States has conducted in-depth research on the preparation of high-performance carbon fibers. Developed a new technology that can increase the strength and modulus of carbon fiber. In January 2019, the Kumar team of Georgia Institute of Technology used polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber as a raw material to successfully prepare nano-microcrystalline cellulose (CNC) carbon fiber with a mass fraction of more than 40%. The tensile strength of PAN / CNC-based carbon fiber is in the range of 1.8 ~ 2.3GPa, and the tensile modulus is in the range of 220 ~ 265GPa.