FACE THE CHANGE Explore New Ways EIGHT TIMES THINNER THAN A HAIR Carbon fibers combine enormous tensile strength (max. 6,600 MPa) with a very low weight (approx. 1.8g/cm³). For comparison: high-strength steel alloys have a tensile strength of only 1,300 MPa and a weight of 7.85g/cm³. The diameter of a single carbon fiber is only approx. 6μm – more than eight times thinner than a blonde hair (50μm). Hair (50 µm Ø) Carbon fiber (6 µm Ø) To find out more about one of the Group’s pioneers in carbon fiber research, we travel to Molsheim in Alsace, France. In this idyllic town with a TURNING ATOMS INTO FIBERS Carbon fibers are produced by pyrolysis of an organic feedstock. This “precursor” is heated to a very high temperature and then drawn into long strands or fibers, stabilizing the atomic structure. The higher the temperature, the higher the share of carbon in the fibers. This share is usually between 96 and 98 mass percent. population of just under 10,000, engineers and technicians from the Bugatti super sports car brand have been testing the use of carbon fiber components to meet the most demanding requirements since 2001. Almost the entire monocoque of the Chiron¹, Bugatti’s latest model, is made of carbon fiber – like its predecessor, the Veyron. The same applies for the outer shell. “We were the first to use tailored fiber placement ultra high-strength RTM components, ultra heat-resistant bismaleimide resins, and UMS carbon fibers in a production car,” explains Frank Götzke, Head of New Technologies, who is also responsible for manufacturing technology development at the brand. “Compared with conventional high-strength steel alloys, carbon fiber has an exceptional ratio of tensile strength and stiffness to density.” The problem, though, is that carbon fiber only Carbon fiber battery: Lamborghini’s Terzo Millennio e-concept car. displays this strength and stiffness in the direction of the fibers, and only at a maximum temperature of 240°C. Interweaving the fibers and making them even more heat-resistant is complex, but ossible. Several milestones in the history of on fiber at Bugatti are on display in Götzke’s ce. The carbon-ceramic brake discs for the tti Veyron, for example, which were the largest of their kind in 2003, but only weighed half as ch as their cast steel counterparts. Or the wiper arm in the new Chiron, which can easily withtand wind pressure even at a speed of 400 kph. 75
78 Publizr Home