- Carbon fiber with high-intensity, high-tensile modulus properties
- Optimized structural design of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based precursor
- Application: automotive & aerospace
Toho Tenax Co., Ltd., the core company of the Teijin Group’s carbon fibers and composites business, has developed a new carbon fiber grade that features both high-intensity and high-tensile modulus. Tenax XMS32 is particular suited for aircraft and automotive applications.
Optimized structural design of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based precursor
The company developed the new carbon fiber grade with a uniform structure by optimizing the structural design of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based precursor and by optimizing its manufacturing process. Compared to Tenax IMS65, the existing carbon fiber grade that has been mainly used for aircraft applications, the new Tenax XMS32 offers 10% more intensity and 10% higher tensile modulus. In addition, resin adherence has been improved through a new surface-modification technology to refine the chemical characteristics of the carbon fiber’s surface and control its smoothness on the nano level.
Application: automotive & aerospace
Carbon fiber used in aircraft, automotive, high-end sports and leisure applications must offer very high levels of stiffness, as well as improved intensity and tensile modulus. The trend toward the thin-walling of products causes problems with stiffness and tensile modulus properties. It had generally been difficult to realize both intensity and tensile modulus in PAN carbon fiber due to decreased intensity resulting from increased tensile modulus.
Toho Tenax is developing prepreg using Tenax XMS32 for airplanes and expects to develop prepregs for automotive and high-end sports and leisure applications in the near future.
