About carbon fiber composites

Composite material refers to a solid material composed of two or more materials. It can be a composite of layers, or it can be a mixed form of composite. Usually the matrix material is made of materials with lower strength and better toughness, such as rubber, plastic, and metal. Reinforcements are made of high-strength materials such as carbon fibers or metal fibers. At present, the most widely used in the machinery industry is resin-based fiber composite materials

Carbon fiber reinforced metal composite materials combine the mechanical and physical properties of carbon fiber and metal, and their fatigue strength, toughness, wear resistance, etc. are better than those of other materials. The base metal has been improved, and as you said, it can be used as bearings or gears, etc. However, mechanical design should consider not only the high strength of the equipment, but also the cost, which is a big factor. You cannot blindly pursue high quality without considering the cost. This may cause the comprehensive performance index to increase very little and the cost to increase several times.

I don’t know much about the military ceramics you mentioned. But there are carbon fiber reinforced ceramic composite materials. Carbon fiber can increase the specific strength of the material, which means it is lighter and has better mechanical properties. This will make the equipment lighter and reduce power consumption. Carbon fiber can also enhance the toughness of materials, which is very critical. For example, ceramic materials have many advantages, but their brittleness is their fatal shortcoming, which also limits their application scope. Adding carbon fiber may solve this problem.

I think since you asked about carbon fiber, you will have a certain understanding of it. Adding carbon fiber will give the material more advantages of carbon fiber material. This is also one of the research directions of composite materials.