2. Carbon fiber properties

Carbon fibers are increasingly used in composite materials as "high-performance" materials. Composite materials, like natural products such as wood and bone, are heterogeneous and anisotropic. Today, they are in competition with metals, which are isotropic and homogeneous materials. A growing body of knowledge, coupled with increasing experience of their use, has demonstrated that very lightweight structures can be made from composite materials.

The anisotropic properties of these composites require detailed calculations of the structures to be produced, in order to position the reinforcing carbon fibers according to the stresses applied to the parts in question. These materials can replace the lightest metals such as titanium and aluminum or their alloys (see