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The Development Of Carbon Fibre

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The Development of Carbon Fibre in Formula 1. What is carbon fibre? Carbon fibre is an extremely strong material that is also super lightweight. The material has many uses in engineering and design, and this case study will discuss the advantages and disadvantages. McLaren first introduced carbon fibre into chassis construction of the MP4 in 1981. Apart from the cars engine, wheel rims and gearbox, all twenty-two Formula 1 cars that competed in the 2014 season bodies, are made of carbon fibre. [1] Properties of Carbon fibre. Design technicians and engineers love to use carbon fibre in manufacturing as it has many desirable properties. First of all is its strength. Carbon fibre is five times stronger than steel and is twice as stiff [2]. The strands of carbon are lined up parallel to each other when producing a sheet. For maximum results in strength, the fibres must be parallel with the forces that will act upon that element, this is to make sure it can withstand the forces going through the object when in use. Carbon fibre is also very lightweight. This property is a huge advantage in car production. By using carbon fibre instead of steel in building car components reduces the weight of the car by 60% [2]. In turn, this reduction in weight cuts the car’s fuel consumption by 30% and reduces greenhouse gases and other emissions by 15%[2]. Below shows a detailed table of the strength to weight ratio of carbon fibre. Carbon fibre also shows that it is a leading 21st

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