Enhanced mechanical performance
Enhanced mechanical performance
High impact resistance and ductile breaking behavior improves the strength of the end product.
Applications for metal fiber composite reinforcement include safer, more durable and impact-resistant composite sports goods, aerospace and automotive components, and composites with superior electrical charge dissipation properties. A specific example is the golf club shaft, where metal fiber is added to improve performance.
Traditional carbon or glass fiber reinforcement fibers have very limited elongation possibilities, which results in a brittle and explosive breaking behavior.
Metal fibers act perfectly complementary to this, and can absorb much more energy before failure. They can also be tuned to have ductile elongation over 25%. Processing is no different from any other reinforcement fiber for composite material.
Compared to other ductile fiber materials generally used in composites, metal fiber does not deteriorate other properties like stiffness, making the hybrid composite perform optimally.
Metal fibers are available in various textile structures, as fiber bundles or as prepreg material in both thermoset and thermoplastic resins.
