Thermoplastic carbon fiber composites will become a new starting point for domestic carbon fiber in China

Thermoplastic carbon fiber reinforced composite materials have the same advantages as thermoset carbon fiber reinforced composite materials in terms of low density, specific strength, specific stiffness, corrosion resistance, designability, etc., but also have unlimited storage period of prepregs, high production efficiency, and waste materials. Special advantages such as recycling are more suitable for the high requirements of modern industrial production.

It has been more than 30 years since the British company ICI first developed high-performance thermoplastic carbon fiber reinforced polyether ether ketone composite material in 1983. Although the application types and markets of thermoset carbon fiber composite materials are constantly expanding, the development of domestic thermoplastic carbon fiber composite materials is too slow.

This is not only because we have just broken the foreign blockade on carbon fiber production technology, the application of ordinary thermoset carbon fiber composite materials is still in the development stage, but also because the prepreg production technology and manufacturing process requirements of thermoplastic carbon fiber composite materials are relatively high. Of carbon fiber downstream companies have not yet had the ability or dared not to get involved rashly.

Compared with thermoplastic carbon fiber composite materials, thermosetting carbon fiber composite materials have accumulated a certain amount of experience and have derived a series of different composite material systems in accordance with the needs. It can be said that the supply of prepregs to production equipment and the application market are relatively mature. However, there is no ready-made reserve for thermoplastic carbon fiber composite materials from production equipment to manufacturing processes, and everything has to be explored from scratch.

Although there are many obstacles, the objective demand of the market for thermoplastic carbon fiber composite materials has prompted domestic companies to look to the future and actively carry out the development and utilization of thermoplastic carbon fiber composite materials. Carrying out research and development projects for thermoplastic carbon fiber, based on the application of thermoset carbon fiber composite materials for many years, and bravely taking forward steps toward high-performance thermoplastic carbon fiber composite materials.

Thermosetting carbon fiber composite materials can not fully meet the needs of the market in terms of performance, cost and production efficiency. For example, structural parts of aerospace products require higher damage tolerance, and the allowable strain value (GIC value) of thermosetting resin matrix such as epoxy resin is very low. It is necessary to effectively reduce the structural weight and give full play to the advantages of composite materials. The strain value must be greatly increased.

The GIC value of high-performance thermoplastic resins such as polyether ether ketone is about ten times that of epoxy resins, and thermoplastic resins have better adhesion to carbon fibers, lower moisture absorption, and better high temperature resistance. Therefore, carbon fiber-reinforced peek composite materials are not only used as structural materials for aircraft, but also widely used in orthopedic surgery fixation brackets and other medical devices.

At present, the application market of thermoplastic carbon fiber composite materials is mainly in aerospace, automotive, industrial manufacturing, medical equipment and other fields. The market share of the entire composite material market is still very small, and the situation of large-scale application has not yet formed. However, from a long-term perspective, with the continuous improvement of thermoplastic carbon fiber composite materials in the molding process and application technology, the market demand for thermoplastic carbon fiber composite materials will far exceed thermoset carbon fiber composite materials. 

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