Re: carbon??

Posted by Kyle T on Oct 11, 2004

Engineering textbooks will tell you that the most stress on bending is to the outside of the bend. The inside of a bend actually sees compression and the center of you composite is neutral. That is why it is possible to use a foam core. So for overall strength the stronger (in tension) the outside fibers are the stronger the system. For a boat the inside surface would be the outside of the bend. So carbon kinda makes sense for the inside of the boat. Because it is brittle it will probably not be a good idea for the outside of the boat where it may encounter puncture forces.

There is a carbon / kevlar hybrid that some boat manufactures are using that allows you to pick various colors of kevlar. Kevlar is tougher and would be a better choice for the outside. Check it out at US Composites.

Hope this helps. --KT--


US Composites hybrids

In Response to: Re: carbon?? by FrankP on Oct 11, 2004

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