Carbon Fiber: Properties, Testing, and Analysis

Carbon fibers have been widely used in fibre-reinforced composites where strength-to-weight ratio is of upmost importance. In this article, a brief discussion of the production of PAN-based carbon fibers is presented. The characterization of the physical and chemical properties of carbon fibers is discussed. Following this, the methods of quantifying the wettability and surface properties of carbon fibers are outlined. We also present the method of measuring the tensile properties of a single carbon fibre. Finally, a brief outline is given on the quantification of the fibrematrix interface, which is the key that determines the mechanical performance of the composites.