Abstract
The development of high strength and high modulus carbon fibres from polyacrylonitrile is discussed. The serendipity of the availability of Courtelle acrylic fibres is considered. William Watt and colleagues at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) in Farnborough discovered in the mid 1960’s the technique for converting polyacrylonitrile (PAN) into high strength carbon fibres (CF), which heralded the field of Composites. From a historical perspective it was serendipitous because “Black Orlon” was known and Akio Shindo, in Japan, had reported that ‘high strength’ CF could be obtained from thermally treated PAN textile fibre. Courtaulds in the UK had developed the aqueous spun copolymer textile fibre in which the internal plasticiser segments promoted drawing while the dye site segments initiated ladder polymer formation- the nuclei for graphitisation. Watt’s interest in establishing the surface functionality of electrolytically oxidised high strength CF inspired the author’s interest in interfacial chemistry and micromechanics. The development of understanding of interfacial micromechanics of carbon fibre composites is described. It is also shown how controlling the interphase structure is critical in optimising mechanical performance of these composites for structural applications. The use of conformal functional plasma polymer coatings to replace the traditional oxidation and sizing stages is considered.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
W. Watt, Chemistry and physics of the conversion of polyacrylonitrile fibres into high modulus carbon fibres, in Strong Fibres, ed. by W. Watt, B.V. Perov (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1985), pp. 327–388
P. Morgan, Carbon Fibres and Their Composites (Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton, 2005)
R.C. Houtz, J. Text. Res. 20, 786–801 (1950)
A. Shindo, Osaka Kogyo Gijitsu Shikenjo Kiha 110, 119 (1961)
A. Shindo, Osaka Kogyo Gijitsu Shikenjo Hokoku 317 (1961)
W.G. Schmidt, Courtaulds Ltd., British Patent, GB796294 (1958)
R. Moreton, in The Tensile Strengths of PAN Based Carbon Fibres in Strong Fibres, ed. by W. Watt, B.V. Perov (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1985), pp. 445–474
E. Frank, L.M. Steudle, D. Ingildeev, J.M. Spörl, M.R. Buchmeiser, Carbon fibers: precursor systems, processing, structure, and properties. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 53, 5262–5298 (2014)
R. Moreton, W. Watt, W.E. Johnson, Nature 213, 690 (1967)
W. Watt, W. Johnson, Nature 257(5523), 210–212 (1975)
P.J. Goodhew, A.J. Clarke, J.E. Bailey, Mater. Sci. Eng. 17, 3–30 (1975)
F.R. Jones, Reinforced plastics composites in modern aluminium alloys, in Treatise on Materials Science and Technology, ed. by R. Doherty, A. Vasudevan, vol 31 (Academic Press, New York, 1989), pp. 605–469
S.C. Bennet, D.J. Johnson, W. Johnson, J. Mater. Sci. 18, 3337 (1983)
F.R. Jones, J. Adhes. Sci. Technol. 24, 171–202 (2010)
W.N. Reynolds, J.V. Sharp, Carbon 12, 103 (1974)
J. Harvey, RAE Technical Report, TR86077 (HMSO, London, 1986)
J. Mahy, L.W. Jenneskens, O. Grabandt, A. Venema, G.D.B. Houwdingen, Surf. Interface Anal. 21, 1–13 (1994)
T.R. King, D.F. Adams, D.A. Butloy, Compos. Sci. Technol. 44, 351–359 (1994)
C. Kozlowski, P.M.A. Sherwood, Carbon 25, 751 (1987)
F.R. Jones (ed.), Handbook of Polymer-Fibre Composites (Longman, Harlow, 1994)
M.R. Alexander, F.R. Jones, Carbon 34, 1093–1102 (1996)
G. Dorey, in The Fibre-Matrix Interface and Composite Strength in Composite Materials in Aircraft Structures, ed. by D.H. Middleton (1990), pp. 51–68
J.E. Castle, J.F. Watts, The study of interfaces in composite materials by surface analytical techniques, in Interfaces in Polymer, Ceramic and Metal Matrix Composites, ed. by H. Ishida (Elsevier, New York, 1988), pp. 57–71
P. Denison, F.R. Jones, J.F. Watts, J. Mater. Sci. 20, 4647–4656 (1985)
P. Denison, F.R. Jones, J.F. Watts, Surf. Interface Anal. 9, 43–435 (1986)
F.R. Jones, in Handbook of Adhesion, ed. by D. Packham, 2nd edn. (Wiley, Chichester, 2004), pp. 177–186
D.V. Dunford, J. Harvey, J. Hutchings, C.H. Judge, RAE Technical Report TR81096 (HMSO, London, 1981)
P. Ehburger, J.J. Herque, J.B. Donnet, in Proceeding of the 5th London International Carbon and Graphite Conference, vol. 1 (Society of Chemical Industry, London, 1978), p. 398
P. Denison, F.R. Jones, J.F. Watts, in Interfaces in Polymer, Ceramic and Metal Matrix Composites, ed. by H. Ishida (Elsevier, New York, 1988), pp. 77–85
P. Denison, F.R. Jones, J.F. Watts, Surf. Interface Anal. 12, 455–460 (1988)
P. Denison, F.R. Jones, A.J. Paul, J.F. Watts, in Interfacial Phenomena in Composite Materials, ed. by F.R. Jones (Butterworths, London, 1989), pp. 105–110
P. Denison, F.R. Jones, G. Dorey, L.F. Jones, in Carbon 88, ed. by B. McEnaney, T.J. Mays (IOP, London, 1988), pp. 634–366
F.R. Jones, in Proceeding 28th Risoe International Symposium on Materials Science: Interface Design of Polymer Matrix Composites—Mechanics, Chemistry, Modelling and Manufacturing, ed. by B.F. Soerensen, L.P. Mikkelson, H. Lilholt, S. Goutianos, F.S. Abdul-Mahdi (Risoe National Laboratory, Roskilde, 2007), pp. 21–44
S. Yumitori, D. Wang, F.R. Jones, Composites 25, 698–705 (1994)
P. Denison, F.R. Jones, A. Brown, P. Humphrey, J. Harvey, J. Mater, Science 23, 2153–2156 (1988)
F.R. Jones, Interphase in Fiber-Reinforced Composites in Wiley Encyclopedia of Composites, ed. by L. Nicolais, A. Borzacchiello, 2nd edn. (Wiley, New York, 2012)
F.R. Jones, Interphase formation and control in fibre composite materials. Key Eng. Mater. 116–117(41–60) (1996)
L.T. Drzal, in Controlled Interphases in Composite Materials, ed. by H. Ishida (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1990), pp. 309–320
P.J. Herrera-Franco, L.T. Drzal, Composites 23, 2 (1992)
P. Feillard, G. Désarmot, J.P. Favre, Compos. Sci. Technol. 50, 265–279 (1994)
L.T. Drzal, M. Madhukar, J. Mater. Sci. 28, 569–610 (1993)
F.R. Jones, Interfacial Analysis in Fiber Composite Materials in Wiley Encyclopedia of Composites, ed. by L. Nicolais, A. Borzacchiello, 2nd edn. (Wiley, New York, 2012)
D. Tripathi, F.R. Jones, J. Mater. Sci. 33, 1–16 (1998)
A.P. Kettle, A.J. Beck, L. O’Toole, F.R. Jones, R.D. Short, Compos. Sci. Technol. 57, 1023–1032 (1997)
R.J. Young, Short fibre reinforcement-direct measurement of fibre strain using Raman spectroscopy, in Handbook of Polymer-Fibre Composites, ed. by F.R. Jones (Longman, Harlow, 1994), pp. 264–268
Z. Liu, F.M. Zhao, F.R. Jones, Comp. Sci. Tech.70(14), 2039 (2010)
A. Kelly, W.R. Tyson, J. Mech. Phys. Solids 13, 329 (1965)
D. Tripathi, F. Chen, F.R Jones, A pseudo-energy based method to predict fibre-matrix adhesion using a single filament composite, in Proceeding of the 10th International Conference on Composite Materials (ICCM-10) Vol.VI. Micro structure, Degradation and Design, ed. by A. Poursartip, K. Street (Woodhead Publishing, Cambridge, 1995), pp. 689–696
D. Tripathi, F. Chen, F.R. Jones, The effect of matrix plasticity on the stress fields in a single filament composite and the value of interfacial shear strength obtained from the fragmentation test. Proc. R. Soc. A 452, 621–653 (1996)
D. Tripathi, F. Chen, F.R. Jones, A comprehensive model to predict the stress fields in a single fibre composite. J. Comp. Mater. 30(14), 1514–1538 (1996)
J. Nairn Mech. Mater. 13,131–154 (1992)
N. Lopattananon, A.P. Kettle, D. Tripathi, A.J. Beck, E. Duval, R.M. France, R.D. Short, F.R. Jones, Interface molecular engineering of carbon fibre composites. Composites Pt. A 30A, 49–57 (1999)
T. Swait, C. Soutis, F.R. Jones, Compos. Sci. Technol. 68, 2302–2309 (2008)
B. Su, K.K.C. Ho, Graeme Knox and Alexander Bismarck. Compos. Interfaces 20, 761–782 (2013)
Acknowledgements
The following have made a significant contribution to the work described here over many years: G Dorey, J E Bailey, M Alexander, T Choudhury, T H Cheng (deceased), P Denison, A Kettle, A Abu Bakar, S A Hayes, C Johnson, R Lane, S Krishnamurthy, N Lopattananon, D Marks, D Wang, D Tripathi, F M Zhao, S Behzadi, Z Liu, X Liu, S Yumitori, P Photjanataree, T Swait, H Sugihara, J Watts and W Watt (deceased).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jones, F.R. (2017). Serendipity in Carbon Fibres: Interfaces and Interphases in Composites. In: Beaumont, P., Soutis, C., Hodzic, A. (eds) The Structural Integrity of Carbon Fiber Composites. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46120-5_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46120-5_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-46118-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-46120-5
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)