On March 11, Zhongfu Shenying, a subsidiary of China National Building Material Group, held a global launch event for the SYT80 (T1200 grade) ultra-high-strength carbon fiber simultaneously at its Beijing headquarters and the JEC WORLD exhibition in Paris, France. Currently the highest-strength carbon fiber product with a hundred-tonne-scale production capacity worldwide, it has a tensile strength exceeding 8,000 MPa, filling the global gap in the large-scale production of ultra-high-strength carbon fiber. This marks that China has established an independent supply system covering the full range of carbon fibers from T300 grade to T1200 grade.

How strong is T1200, the world's highest-strength industrially mass-produced carbon fiber?

1.Corrosion-resistant

Carbon fiber undergoes carbonization at a high temperature of nearly 2000°C during the production process, resulting in extremely stable chemical properties. When a metal sheet and a carbon fiber woven sheet are placed in aqua regia, whose main components are hydrochloric acid and nitric acid, the metal sheet reacts violently instantly, while the carbon fiber woven sheet shows no change at all after being soaked for a period of time.

2.Excellent fireproof and flame retardant properties

A fire test was conducted using a blowtorch. The middle of the carbon fiber woven fabric glowed red hot, yet it did not emit smoke, nor did it catch fire, demonstrating excellent safety performance.

3.Carbon fiber with the highest strength, finest diameter and lightest weight

Magnified 800 times under an electron microscope, a comparison between a human hair and T1200-grade carbon fiber reveals that the surface of the hair is covered with scales, with a diameter of approximately 67 micrometers, while the diameter of a T1200-grade carbon fiber filament is less than 4.5 micrometers.

A human hair magnified 800 times (left) and T1200-grade carbon fiber (right)

A carbon fiber rope made by twisting together 120,000 carbon fiber filaments has a theoretical diameter of less than 2 millimeters when taut, yet it can pull a large truck fully loaded with 54 adults.

How is T1200-grade carbon fiber produced?

The entire production process of T1200-grade ultra-high-strength carbon fiber spans a high-temperature production line of more than 1,000 meters, requiring real-time precise control of more than 3,000 sophisticated processes.

The production line of carbon fiber resembles a textile workshop, and the rows of white cylindrical objects are the precursor fibers of carbon fiber.

The white raw silk enters the next process along the wire drawing machine: pre-oxidation.

Pre-oxidation is carried out in an oxidation furnace at an internal temperature between 200℃ and 300℃, which demands the most precise control of heating intensity. Just like pan-frying a steak to medium-rare, it requires slow frying over low heat so that the inside is not too raw and the surface is not too charred. Its function is to make the precursor fiber more heat-resistant, preventing it from melting or breaking during the subsequent high-temperature carbonization process.

On the S-shaped reciprocating reels at more than ten stories high, the precursor fibers that first enter the oxidation furnace turn from white to golden yellow. As they pass in and out of the furnace more frequently, the color of the precursor fibers deepens gradually from bottom to top—changing from golden yellow to dark yellow, then to brown, and finally to black.

Next comes the oxygen-free carbonization stage. The temperature in the low-temperature furnace ranges from 600 to 1000°C, where most non-carbon substances in the precursor fiber are removed. The temperature in the high-temperature furnace reaches 1000 to 2000°C, at which point the material is fully carbonized and becomes carbon fiber.

What impact does the emergence of T1200 have on the carbon fiber bicycle industry? See you next blog.