We all know that carbon fiber has excellent strength and stiffness. There are many factors that determine the strength and stiffness of carbon fiber, one of which is choosing different fiber directions with different strengths and stiffness. Carbon fiber sheets can be strong or flexible. I don't know whether you have seen the two carbon fiber accessories made of the same carbon fiber material. They have the same thickness and the same product design. One is very flexible and the other is very hard. This is because they use different fiber orientations. One uses the 0° fiber orientation, so it is very flexible. And the other one uses a combination of 0°and 90° fiber directions, so it's hard.
The fiber can Orient in any direction between 0°and 180°, and when the fiber orientation exceeds 90°it is usually called a negative Angle value. For example, the fiber orientation Angle of 135°is equal to -45°.Carbon fiber Composite pipe tubing and carbon fiber fabric sheets manufacturers often use different fiber orientations depending on the strength requirements of one direction of the product.
In this article, we will explain how fiber orientation affects the properties of carbon fiber sheets and tubing. So you can choose the right fiber direction for your project.
On the market, there are three common fiber orientations. It's 0° , 90° , 45°
Providing axial strength and stiffness is ideal for beams and columns that must resist axial loads.
When the fiber is in the same direction as the load, the fiber direction can be 0°. This is commonly used in pultrusion tubes. On a pultrusion tube, the zero-degree direction is along the length of the tube, contributing to bending stiffness strength. If all 0°fiber directions are used, the pipe will bend easily under load. So this fiber orientation is just right for fishing gear.
Providing lateral strength and stiffness is ideal for creating a layer of consolidation that holds everything together and provides strength in the pressure vessel.
The 90° direction is usually used in conjunction with the 0° direction. This is because most tubes are not loaded in just one direction. When loading in both directions is required, adding a 90° direction to the 0° direction can well avoid bending and crushing the carbon fiber tube and help to maintain its shape better. This property of being equal in both directions is a bidirectional carbon fiber laminate sheet. All of our carbon fiber rods and tubes use a combination of 0° fiber orientation and 90° fiber orientation. That's why our pipes don't bend while the load stays strong.
Provides shear and torsional strength and stiffness and is ideal for torsional shafts and shear webs such as I-webs.
Usually, a +45° layer is adjacent to a -45° layer. ±45° angles are often used with 0° and 90° layers to form quasi-isotropic laminations. Quasi-isotropic plates have the property of quasi-equality in all directions.
Now you know how fiber orientation affects the strength and stiffness of carbon fiber sheets and tubes. You can choose the right paving according to your own needs.
If you need a carbon fiber tube that performs in a variety of conditions, a combination of 0° layers and 90° layers is ideal. If you need a carbon-fiber tube with good torsional properties, choose a combination of 0° layers, 45° layers, and 90° layers (with more 45° layers.).
Since most of the load directions are in the direction of 0° and 90°, it is not enough to choose only the direction of 0° fiber or 90° fiber, and often need to combine the direction of 0° and 90°. Our conventional carbon fiber plates and pipes are arranged in 0° /90 °, which is suitable for most fields. However, if stiffness along the 45-degree axis is necessary, quasi-isotropic carbon fibers would be a good choice.
Note that the fiber orientation is not just 0°, 45°, and 90°, it can also be 30°, 60°, 120°, etc. Our 0°/90° layup meets almost any requirement. But if someone needs a special fiber orientation or arrangement, please make a phone call to us or send us an email, and we can customize it to your requirements.