Recently, Toray Japan announced the development of a new generation of ultra-high-strength carbon fiber TORAYCA® T1200. The new generation of carbon fiber T1200 was developed using new equipment installed at Toray's Ehime plant. It has a world-leading level and highest strength and can meet the needs of all fields from sports and leisure to aerospace.
To meet the market demand for high-strength carbon fiber, Toray further developed its proprietary nano-level structure control technology to design and realize an internal structure that is not easy to break. By applying this technology, the conventional highest-strength product T1100, which is widely used in applications such as golf clubs, bicycle supplies, fishing rods, racing sports, and aerospace, has been improved to create ultra-high-strength carbon fiber TORAYCA® T1200.
The TORAYCA® T1200 launched this time is a 12K small tow product. Compared with the performance of Toray's existing carbon fiber products, T1200 has a tensile strength of 8.0GPa (about 100 kilograms per square millimeter), which is more than 10% higher than T1100. The tensile modulus is higher than T800S and lower than T1100, and the density is slightly heavier than T1100.
The newly developed carbon fiber intentionally creates a "crystal disordered internal structure" (the company) by controlling the carbon crystal structure at the nano level. In this way, when the fiber breaks, bumps, and grooves will form on the fracture surface as the fracture intensifies (Figure 2). Compared with the original product with a smooth fracture surface, the product developed this time breaks in a bumpy shape, and the fracture is difficult to intensify, so it has higher strength.
Toray has not disclosed the specific manufacturing method, but when developing the new carbon fiber this time, it used the new production equipment introduced by the company's Ehime plant (located in Matsumae-cho, Ehime Prefecture). However, Toray also stated that when it wants to increase production in the future, it can also use the existing mass production equipment used for high-strength carbon fiber. The price of the new product has not yet been determined. Samples are now available.
