Carbon Fiber Composite Application III

CFRT Cable Core

Aluminum conductor steel reinforced (ACSR) is easy to sag under high temperatures. It sags severely once the temperature is over 70℃. Sags may cause short out, and even drag the cable down to the ground, endangering the lives of people.

Aluminum conductor carbon fiber (ACCC) is effective to control sags of overhead cable lines. In 2005, the company CTC Global launched the first commercial ACCC wire. The strength and current transmission capacity are twice that of ACSR, while the line loss is reduced by 25% to 40%. The cable core made of carbon fiber is 28% finer than steel cores. It means ACCC can carry AL cables 28% more than ACSR. Thus the current passing capacity is undoubtedly increased.

Reinforcement Material for Compressed Tanks

High-pressure tanks are usually for the storage of gaseous and liquid fuels used in aero-crafts, ships, and vehicles, as well as respirators for firefighters and divers.

Italy was the first to use natural gas as a vehicle fuel in the 1930s. For a long time, steel gas cylinders had been too heavy for comprehensive application until the birth of a composite cylinder with an AL/steel liner reinforced by carbon fiber. In the 1990s, composite gas cylinders with plastic liners became popular. The application of high-pressure gas cylinders in the field of new energy vehicles is mainly high-pressure hydrogen storage cylinders for fuel cell-powered vehicles, whose pressure has reached 70MPa.

Rotors of Uranium Enriched Gas Centrifuge

Uranium enriched gas centrifuge technology is the key to nuclear fuel production and an important indicator of nuclear technology. The speed of the rotor in the centrifuge is directly related to the gas separation efficiency. Above 60000r/min is the basic performance requirement of the centrifuge. Metal rotors have no way to reach such a high speed for they cannot surpass the resonance frequency. Metal will break as soon as it reaches the resonance frequency. However, this is never a problem for composite materials. CFRT rotors can tolerate much higher speed. Therefore, as early as the 1980s, fiber-reinforced composites have been used to manufacture high-speed rotors for uranium enriched gas centrifuges. With the progress of CFRT technology, composite rotors can withstand even higher speeds, and the efficiency of uranium enrichment has been greatly improved.