Mechanical Properties of Structural Carbon Fibre Profiles

Typical Example of a Carbon Fibre Profile;

	Table 1. 'I' Beam	Density g/cm³	Mass Kg/M	EI N mm2 Stiffness	CTE x 10-6
	CARBON FIBRE	1.6	0.52	23.4	0.54
	ALUMINUM	2.7	0.88	21.4	23.0

This example compares the properties of a typical Carbon Fibre 'I' beam, the cross section of which is detailed in Fig.1., with a similar Aluminum beam.

It can be seen from Table 1. that the carbon fibre beam is 10% stiffer in the 'Beam mode' and 40% lighter than the aluminum.

The Coefficient of thermal expansion along the beam is almost ZERO.