7.Trends of Composites Application and Prospect
7.1.Aerospace
Market development trend shown as below: CF demand quantity is 17,600 tons in 2016.
Aviation and Aerospace Market share(by Ton) shown as below:
Commercial aviation industry has a big demand driver for carbon fiber. For example, for the Boeing 787 has been the largest customer in the past 2 years. Airbus A350 has become another important driver for the carbon fiber since 2015.We are expecting eagerly that COMAC will invest more in carbon fiber industry and composite material and built basis for developing aircraft in the future.
7.2.Sports & Leisure
Sports& Leisure market and demand development in the past 10 years as below:
Carbon fiber demand in Sports - Segment as shown in below:
The main increasing segment is bicycle in 2016 as shown in above.The attribute of sports & leisure is: International brands outsource the production in China(mainly by Taiwanese factories).
The manufacturing process is relatively traditional, labor intensive and reformation change. However, the weakness is technology of innovation. America or European countries is mainly engaged in design products and brand operation,that’s maybe important reason cause lack of innovation.
7.3.Wind Blade
Both the low speed wind field and offshore wind power boost development of large-size wind blades. With the carbon fiber cost going down and innovation on wind blade composite process, wind turbine segment have a large increasing demand on carbon fiber in 2016.
The main manufacturers producing carbon fiber wind blades are: Vestas, Gemesa-Siemens,Nortex andGE. These companies are the boosters to use carbon fiber. The important carbon fiber wind blades manufacturers also include LM, TPI and Tessis from Brazil.
All of the domestic wind blades manufacturers: Luoyang SunRui, Sinoma, ChongTong,MingYang, CCGC, TMT etc. are actively using carbon fiber and will supply large-size wind blades in batches this year. The whole machine makers such as Goldwind, CSIC, Shanghai Electric, MingYang etc. are actively promoting fans with larger diameter CF cap beam cap. The situation is very good.
At present the international popular of wind blade cap beam mainly is : Vacuum perfusion of high permeable multiaxial fabric; vacuum perfusion of pultrusion.Guangdong Broadwin provided perfusion resin system through several years test from Europe to Chinese customers. Many company such as GuangWei have make effort to push pultrusion development. But now it’s the bigger problems that is supply for low cost of larger tow CF and high permeable multiaxial fabric.
From other view,if CFindustry can catch this chance that will reduce cost for carbon fiber.
7.4.Automobile
As for report of 2015,after making carbon fiber car body of I3 and I8 series in BWM company,we are so confident in this field and believe the carbon fiber automobile age is coming soon. However,after 1 years,we are so complicated feeling in our bottom of heart for automobile carbon fiber.
Firstly,the sales situation of I3 is less than many expected. It is said by internal employees in BMW that they have argued with carbon fiber car body,even adjust to strategy. It seems that developing of carbon fiber automobile will bedarken. After then,BMW promoted 「Carbon Core 7」 series. This series carry with more than 16 forms components that make up for demand of carbon fiber. The international composite and automobile industry promotes 「mixed material」 ofidea. We can see that the automobile of fuel battery become popular and the hydrogen cylinder of high pressure (35&70MPA) transfers to hot topic.Carbon fiber factory from Japan they are merger composite material component of automobile company and offer stronger confident in market. However,automobile factory from China at the moment is still balance attitude and also make embarrass for carbon fiber industry.
We have come across the complicated topic, firstly automobile industry must combine with the composites and up to common idea how to better use composites material.
1. Automobile industry needs customized low-cost CF; The low-cost CF technology requires big innovation, or even new invention.
2. Automobile needs innovative supply chain of composite.The cost for one kilogram of composite material should be closed ,equaled or even lower than carbon fiber.
3. Automobile must be equipped with correct design direction that you can use advantage for composite.
4. We are good at using composite material of advantage to design automobile. We believe that when using metal material to produce automobile it’s impossible display other advantage.
5. The CF composite material is very potential instead of aluminium alloy especially for cost side and reduce the vehicle’s weight.
6. We need to re-build the composite comprehensive cost system, it’s very difficult to demonstrate the advantage of CF compositeusing metal cost system.
7.5.Pressure Vessel
Regarding Pressure Vessel market,we reserve the comment of report in 2015.
Although the current market demand for pressure vessel is not huge, but it still has a very prosperous development space.
A. Fuel cell has achieved the breakthrough in the cost reduction. It will fundamentally change the technology roadmap for new energy automobile. It will directly push electric automobile to compete against electric automobile in the new energy auto market. In the second half of 2015,Toyota rolled out its fuel cell car MIRAI which gained the popularity ofmarket. The other fuel cell automobile from the other brands will gradually come to the market in 2016~2017. It will create huge demand on the high pressure hydrogen cylinder, and give a big thrust to the high quality carbon fiber material.
B. The demand for big trailer CNG vessel remainstrong with the promotion by Hexagon Lincoln, its latest version TITAN XL (40foot container, 15000 CBM) finished its trial test in LATAM in 2015. It is certified to go on road by US Department of Transportation. SINOMATECH China is also actively promoting the project in domestic market.
Pressure vessel has extreme strict requirement on the stability of carbon fiber, due to the highest safety request for pressure vessel. Carbon fiber manufacturers have to prove to the customer that: their carbon fiber has persistent high quality performance. 「Maintain the stability」 is the core factor for carbon fiber industry. Entering the pressure vessel market is the honorable 「medal」 for carbon fiber enterprise.
7.6.Molding & Compound
Strictly speaking, the molding & compound is not an application market but a description of production process. Because it covers a wide range of applications, we summarize it as an application market in order to articulate it more clearly.
Compound mainly refers to the discontinuous carbon fiber reinforced plastics. Main forms include Chopped fiber and long fiber thermoplastic (i.e.LFT).These materia lforms is becoming important direction how to reduce cost for composite material. However we face mainly problem: through double screws and injection of single screws, after 2 times cutting, the average of fiber only keep0.1-0.2mm length during processing. That seriously effect mechanical properties for composite.
If the fiber of length can achieve 1-2mm, the mechanical properties can raise by 30%. That’s show that the LFT can keep longer fiber length. But we must clarifyit’s difficult disperse for fiber and more stick for plastic. If we can mixcompound and inject directly, will reduce processing cost, it will partly replace discontinuous glass fiber reinforced plastics, even become construction parts.
Molding mainly refers to Sheet Molding Compound-SMC and Bulk Molding Compound-BMC. This type of material is made from mixture of fiber and hotmelt matrix, and it’s classic technology for glass fiber. And the technology is adopted and improved by CF. In general, the SMC of glass fiber is more exterior components on the contrary the SMC of carbon fiber is totally become construction components. At the same time,with a great mobility,can provide widely design space and idea for
designer. It is similar with SMC,BMC material forms and technology that can also indicate development direction for lower cost of composite material.
For the discontinuous carbon fiber composites, the composites makers can achieve lower cost and higher output by sacrificing the fiber quality. It meets the demand on high price effective industry. So that means human choose compromise strategy in processing of progress technology.
7.7.Construction
The construction field can take advantage of important function in composite material of CF, mainly application is reinforcement for old construction.
Apart from the construction reinforcement field, the bridge cables using composites is a new research focus by Japan. China has also done some research.
As to the nautical architectures (artificial islands,offshore oil platforms), the carbon fiber composites not only have the light weight advantage (reducing the transportation and engineering cost), but also have corrosion resistance advantage (extending life time). Once the fiber costis reduced, there will be more expansive application areas in this field.
For military, by adopting the light but strong carbon fiber composites, the efficiency of installing temporary bridges will be increased greatly, and improve operational speed.
Carbonfiber reinforced cement, carbon fiber grid reinforced concret and carbon fiber grid road deicing is also being studied globally. Some projects have already been industrialized.
In construction field,it will be effected to extend applicant that is mainly two reasons:firstly, the construction teams exists lower quality pretend to be good quality and achieve more profit,and the operational skills of constructor is poor cause inconsistent with reinforcement and quality after use expensive composite material of CF and the Buyer can expect. On the other hand, due to CFof expensive prices,many of project didn’t want to adopt. If can reduce costfor carbon fiber can really push the applicant of field.
7.8.Marine
At present, the main demand on carbon fiber in marine sector comes from: racing boats and auxiliaries, super luxurious yachts, navy warships, and various masts of boats. Racing boats, same as F1 cars, are the active users for advanced materials.
The super power navy countries have increased the usage of carbon fiber composites as well as China navy. Some of special of components has really indicated demand expansibility for carbon fiber. It will fully show active trying foradvanced material with independent innovation. As to a thruster of warship and the system of universal driving shaft, carbon fiber is carry with obviously benefit for noise reduction and other side. However,under operating condition and load situation in seawater, we will compare with our similar work environment and load,it is so different. But we must believe we want to attempt and try so that can solve the problems and find out correct direction in future.
7.9.Other NotableApplication
Electronic and electrical market
With the development of portables of consumer electronics,the lighting and thinning have turned into popular tendency.For example,the laptop is down per 1 kilogram, IPAD at the moment is from 900 gram toward to 700 gram in the futureit will be reduced to 500 gram as plan. On the other side, mobilephone is display high technology obviously especially for its lighting andthinning so that we can see the carbon fiber is instead of magnalium step bystep and become important material.
Meanwhile,connecting carbon fiber with aerospace,it will more be fulled of sense of high technology. So it will possible carbon fiber will become important material in each of consumer electronics.
Sony,Lenovo they are mainly push laptop to use carbon fiber. Chinese Mainland and Taiwan both of are the most intensive processing area of consumer electronics.We assume that it will be became unique of competition advantage if China canmake use of this point.
At present, the main material of forms have: chopped carbon fiber reinforces plastics,continuous carbon fiber of plate. In the past, the electronic sindustry requested demand to using continuous thermoplastic of composite material and try them best to push,but at last we can’t see success case.In the end,we would like to summary that the electronic industry like automobileindustry have a bigger demand,stability of the quality for composite materialof carbon fiber as well as the cost has competition advantage.
High speed train
Review report on 2014 or 2015’s, the light of weight of high speed train and the composite material of carbon fiber both of have a huge application potential.We have also mentioned:
All international high speed train companies are busy developing the carbon fiber composites for high speed train, for example, Japan is using the mixture of carbon fiber and aramid fiber to make the skirt hem at the bottom of the carbody. Korea has been learning from the winding filament for the fuselage anddeveloped carbon fiber composites for the vehicle body, floor, and locomotive.
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies(HTT) is under by Elon Musk has announced cooperation with Carbures Europe SA together developing capsule locomotive ismade by suitable size and cover with composite material of carbon fiber.
Carbon fiber felt and paper
Carbon fiber not only is construction material but also is the excellent function material. The fuel cell has adopted with carbon fiber using in gas diffusion layer. With the fuel cell of developing, we assume that the market of carbonfiber must have great development; The light felt around 2mm has been appliedby a large liquid flow of battery electrode plates,the demand is huge;However,the traditional of lead acid battery is high quality and reasonable price,and the market shareis the higher comparing other products battery. If we can use special treatedof carbon fiber felt instead of lead acid battery positive electrode andcathode, it should be improved the battery of charge-discharge performance andlifetime.On the other side, 1 million of battery needs 160 ton of carbon fiber felt. It’sindicated that this potential of market is so huge.