Plastics reinforced with carbon fibres
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• A weight saving of 20 per cent, improved stiffness and other advantages are claimed for a carbon-fibre-reinforced glass-fibre nose section of a Lola GT racing car shown earlier this week at a plastics exhibition in London, organized by Courtaulds Ltd. As mentioned by a spokesman of the company„ carbon fibres could readily be employed to reinforce major plastics components of commercial vehicle bodywork, such as cabs and so on. The Lola nose section is produced by Specialised Mouldings Ltd., Huntingdon, the plastics materials and carbon fibres being supplied by Courtaulds.
The carbon fibres of the nose section take the form of a grid embedded in the glass fibre. Courtaulds says that carbon-fibre-reinforced plastics materials have a stiffness equivalent to that of steel, "greater usable strength" and one-fifth the density. It is also claimed that they have exceptional machining and fatigue properties, low friction and wear characteristics and a high resistance to chemical attack.