Carbon fiber,composed of carbon atoms also known as graphite fiber, carbon graphite or CF, is a material consisting of fibers about 5–10 μm in diameter.
The carbon atoms are molded together in crystals that are staged parallel to the long axis of the fiber as the crystal alignment gives the fiber high strength-to-volume ratio. Thousand of carbon fibers are molded together to form a tow, which may be used by itself or stiched into a fabric.
(Image Source:www.google.com)
Carbon fiber's properties like high strength, high stiffness, low density, non-corrosiveness, electrical conductivity, and chemical inertness ways it high in applications such as military,aerospace,, automotive, wind energy, sporting goods, and industrial applications.
Demand for more fuel efficient vehicles, structural & performance advantages, continuous emergence of novel applications, and increased demand from emerging economies has led to an increase in interest in carbon fiber market.
However,the cons like high price of the carbon fiber, insufficient production capacity, processing difficulties, and lack of automation has been a set back for the carbon fiber market.
Currently, almost 90% of the carbon fiber that is used is PAN-based, whereas pitch-based carbon fiber is used only in specialty applications. The global carbon fiber market is expected to grow from $1,701.9 million in 2010 to $2,515.4 million by 2016 at a CAGR of 5.9%. Asia-Pacific accounted for the highest share in the carbon fiber market and is expected to reach $938.9 million in 2016 at a CAGR of 6.3% from 2011 to 2016. North America is the second largest market and expected to grow with CAGR of 5.9% to reach $857 million in 2016. The market shares of various geographies for the period are Asia-Pacific (36.2%), North America (34%), Europe (25.8%), and ROW (3.88%).
In 2010, most of the carbon fiber production (47%) was used by the aerospace sector. Falling in the second place was the other industrial applications sector with a 29.5% market share. The remaining three sectors; namely sporting goods, wind energy and automotive, which utilized 11.8%, 8.8% and 2.6% respectively. The report also includes the breakdown of these applications into various geographies and even further into different regions in these geographies.
The carbon atoms are molded together in crystals that are staged parallel to the long axis of the fiber as the crystal alignment gives the fiber high strength-to-volume ratio. Thousand of carbon fibers are molded together to form a tow, which may be used by itself or stiched into a fabric.
(Image Source:www.google.com)
Carbon fiber's properties like high strength, high stiffness, low density, non-corrosiveness, electrical conductivity, and chemical inertness ways it high in applications such as military,aerospace,, automotive, wind energy, sporting goods, and industrial applications.
Demand for more fuel efficient vehicles, structural & performance advantages, continuous emergence of novel applications, and increased demand from emerging economies has led to an increase in interest in carbon fiber market.
However,the cons like high price of the carbon fiber, insufficient production capacity, processing difficulties, and lack of automation has been a set back for the carbon fiber market.
Currently, almost 90% of the carbon fiber that is used is PAN-based, whereas pitch-based carbon fiber is used only in specialty applications. The global carbon fiber market is expected to grow from $1,701.9 million in 2010 to $2,515.4 million by 2016 at a CAGR of 5.9%. Asia-Pacific accounted for the highest share in the carbon fiber market and is expected to reach $938.9 million in 2016 at a CAGR of 6.3% from 2011 to 2016. North America is the second largest market and expected to grow with CAGR of 5.9% to reach $857 million in 2016. The market shares of various geographies for the period are Asia-Pacific (36.2%), North America (34%), Europe (25.8%), and ROW (3.88%).
In 2010, most of the carbon fiber production (47%) was used by the aerospace sector. Falling in the second place was the other industrial applications sector with a 29.5% market share. The remaining three sectors; namely sporting goods, wind energy and automotive, which utilized 11.8%, 8.8% and 2.6% respectively. The report also includes the breakdown of these applications into various geographies and even further into different regions in these geographies.
