Hydrosize® Carbon

Maximized Strength & Lightweighting for Carbon Fiber Composites

 

Overview

Hydrosize® Carbon is part of Michelman’s Hydrosize® brand family of water-based sizing solutions that allows carbon fiber manufacturers to tailor the surface chemistry of their reinforcement fibers to the chemistry of the matrix resin, thereby optimizing the interfacial adhesion between the polymers and fibers. This technology allows the composites industry to exploit the benefits of carbon fiber.

BENEFITS OF CARBON FIBER

  • Excellent strength-to-weight ratio for lightweighting 
  • High stiffness and strength
  • Corrosion resistance
  • Low Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE)
  • Chemical resistivity
  • Thermal and electrical conductivity

IMPROVED MECHANICAL PERFORMANCE

Composite samples containing sized vs. un-sized carbon fibers showed significant improvements in tensile modulus and strength when compared against each other.

 
20 15 10 5 0 TENSILE MODULUS (GPa) Hydrosize® Carbon 280 Hydrosize® Carbon 260 13% 19% (unsized)
250 200 150 100 50 0 TENSILE STRENGTH (MPa) Hydrosize® Carbon 280 Hydrosize® Carbon 260 25% 32% (unsized)
 
HOW WE TESTED

Tensile samples were prepared by feeding chopped carbon fibers (30 wt. %) and a Nylon 6,6 matrix into a lab scale compounder and then into an injection molder. The mechanical properties of composites containing both sized vs. un-sized carbon fibers were evaluated by following the ISO 527 method, where a minimum of 10 samples of each were tested for each data point presented in the graphs.

 

THERMAL STABILITY FOR HIGH TEMPERATURE RESINS

Composites that require high temperature processing typically require the use of high temperature polyamide, polyimide, PPS, and PAEK based resins. Our Hydrosize® Carbon grades provide excellent thermal stability and are specifically designed to withstand elevated processing and subsequent applications.

Thermogravimetric-Analysis Created with Sketch. 0 Hydrosize® Carbon Grades: — 250 — 280 — 410 THERMOGRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS Universal V4.54 TA Instruments Temperature (°C) Weight (%) 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 60 20 80 40 100 120

SIZED VS. UN-SIZED

Carbon fibers sized with Hydrosize® Carbon 280 in a Nylon 6,6 matrix (left) are uniformly coated, providing stronger interfacial adhesion between the resin and the fiber, and imparting enhanced impact resistance, tensile strength, and fatigue resistance compared to the same matrix with un-sized fibers (right).

 

HYDROSIZE® CARBON GRADES

This series of grades offers a wide variety of solutions depending on resin compatibility, fiber type, and desired composite performance.

Product Name
Product Solids Type
chopped strands
continuous fiber
mechanical performance
strand integrity
elevated thermal performance
Hydrosize® Carbon 110Polypropylene•••
Hydrosize® Carbon 120Polypropylene••••
Hydrosize® Carbon 210Polyurethane••••
Hydrosize® Carbon 220Polyurethane•••
Hydrosize® Carbon 240Polyurethane•••
Hydrosize® Carbon 250Polyurethane••
Hydrosize® Carbon 260Polyurethane•••
Hydrosize® Carbon 280Polyamide••••
Hydrosize® Carbon 310Phenoxy Dispersion•••
Hydrosize® Carbon 410Polyimide•••