Several polymers, alloys, and other materials (such as carbon fiber) that were developed during the Space Age of the 1960s and 1970s are used in the components of modern vehicles. Now carbon-carbon - one of the most versatile and most expensive composites born out of the aerospace industry - may be coming to a car near you.
What is carbon-carbon?
Carbon-carbon is a complex composite that is formed by encasing carbon fibers in a carbon matrix. This is what makes carbon-carbon composites different from everyday carbon fiber materials, which embed carbon fibers in an epoxy matrix.
The replacement of epoxy with carbon as a matrix material gives carbon-carbon composites much greater heat resistance than virtually any common manufacturing material. Yet it also increases the cost of production tremendously, since processing times can presently take as long as several weeks.
What is carbon-carbon used for?
Aerospace parts formed from carbon-carbon have been able to withstand temperatures in excess of 1800-degrees Celsius without compromising any of their room-temperature properties. In fact, carbon-carbon has such high heat resistance that it was developed originally and is still used as the primary heat shield material for ballistic missiles and the space shuttle.
So what does carbon-carbon have to do with cars?
In recent years, carbon-carbon parts and their derivatives have been showing up as superior, high-performance brake rotors on some of the most exotic cars in the world. On a new Ferrari F430, for example, brake rotors made of carbon-silicon carbide (a similar material to carbon-carbon) are available as an $18,000 option.
In an even more exotic application, carbon-carbon materials are being considered for use in piston heads. Automotive designers believe that such carbon-carbon parts can significantly reduce the weight of moving engine components, thus increasing efficiency and making everyday cars "greener."
When will you get carbon-carbon in your car?
As with most technological developments, the price of new materials declines with time. Already, companies in the carbon business are claiming projected cost cuts to the extent that carbon-silicon carbide brake rotors (and even reduced-weight piston heads) could be available to the common car buyer in the next few years.
Will these new products become popular? Or will more efficient fuel sources or a lack of necessity among everyday drivers leave carbon-carbon composites without a market?
Resources:
http://www.autonews.com/article/20090615/ANE02/906129996/1189
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinforced_carbon-carbon
http://www.sglgroup.com/cms/international/products/product-groups/bd/carbon-ceramic-brake-disks/index.html?__locale=en
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