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      02-23-2012, 02:16 PM   #33
mkoesel
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Judah View Post
Structural carbon fiber can be repaired in most cases very similar to the way fiberglass is repaired when damaged.
Sure, I understand that it can be done. But - unlike fiberglass - carbon fiber is woven. I think of fixing carbon fiber like fixing a damaged clothing garment. You can do it of course, but you typically have to mend it with a patch of some sort, and as a result it usually does not look or feel like new again. With fiber glass, its more like fixing a chip in a windshield - you just fill it in and no one is the wiser (well maybe it isn't quite that simple, but you see what I mean).

With steel or aluminum I can weld two foot-long pieces together and have the result be as strong as one equivalent-thickness two-foot-long piece. Even with fiber glass, I can fuse two pieces together and have something as rigid as the original. But I don't think the same is true for carbon fiber. If it were, then instead of producing huge sheets of the material to create large parts, they could just patch a bunch of smaller squares of it together like a quilt or something. There's obviously a reason why they don't do it that way - the rigidity of the part is largely dependent one continuous woven sheet of material.

Quote:
However, just like a steel or aluminum chassis there are limits to possible repair....
With metal repair work, the limit is usually based upon cost. For cases where there is sufficient motivation, just about any steel part can be fixed (within reason - a fire would make it almost impossible, as would a near complete destruction of the part in a horrific accident or perhaps an explosion). Consider classic cars, for example. Even when left to rot for years, they are typically salvageable and restoreable (incidentally that's a big advantage of CFRP - no rust). Or, if someone wrecks their rare Ferrari GTO on a track, they will more than likely get it back going again some way or another.
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