Project

Module Code: PM 505
Class/Group: Group A
Module Title: Science & Engineering Double Project
Assessment Title: Secondary Research Project
Assignment Title: Feasibility of Carbon Fibers to Replace Steel in Manufacturing Civilian vehicles
Tutor Name: Bob Wallace, Ben Brown
Student ID Number: 2014268
Date of Submission: Thursday 26th June 2012
Word count：7350
Abstract
Carbon fiber composites have recently attracted much attention as lightweight materials in the automotive industry, particularly in civilian vehicles. An increasing number of engineers have concerned about the feasibility of carbon fibers to replace conventional steel which still dominate the material market of manufacturing vehicles. In order to find out the feasibility of replacing steel, a number of literatures and data had been read which has helped to give a comprehensive overview of basic concepts of this topic. During this secondary research project, a comparative analysis had been conducted between these two materials using several criteria to obtain the results. Implications for further research have been pointed out, which are, developing the technology in the process of fabricating carbon fibers in order to reduce the cost during the fabricating steps, on the other hand, improving the public cognition of the new material in order to receive the acception from public and to minimise controversy.

Key words: Carbon fiber, replacing, feasibility, cost.

Contents
Abstract……………………………………………………………2
1. Introduction………………………………………………………4 2. Literature review…………………………………………………7 1. Introduction……………………………………………………….7 2. Definition of composites………………………………………….7 3. Two dominant classes of commercial carbon fibers……………...8 4. Structure of carbon fibers………………………………………..10 5. Properties of carbon fibers………………………………………11 6. Study of building a conventional steel vehicle………………….12 7. Application for Carbon fiber composites………………………..13 3.

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