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Bonding Carbon Fiber to Steel


Sophie

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I am part of a design team for my university where we are building an off-road car. This year, our team is investigating the possibility of making some of our drive shafts out of carbon fiber, but we are unsure of whether we could make a strong bond between carbon fiber and steel. I have read that aluminum and carbon fiber should be separated due to galvanic corrosion, is this the same with steel? Are there any other factors which should be considered? 

Thank you.

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On 10/11/2024 at 11:02 AM, Sophie said:

I am part of a design team for my university where we are building an off-road car. This year, our team is investigating the possibility of making some of our drive shafts out of carbon fiber, but we are unsure of whether we could make a strong bond between carbon fiber and steel. I have read that aluminum and carbon fiber should be separated due to galvanic corrosion, is this the same with steel? Are there any other factors which should be considered? 

Thank you.

Certainly doable! Rock West Composites already sells a lot of carbon fiber tubes for driveshaft purposes.

What kind of racing are you doing? Any pics of your car?

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Thank you for your response. The club is Baja SAE, so we do off-road racing. I attached an image of our car and circled the shaft which we are thinking of making carbon. The shaft will only undergo torsion and is constrained to a diameter of 2 inches. Could I kindly ask for a recommendation of Rock West Composites drive shafts which could be used for this purpose?

Thank you in advance. 

Image-1.jpg

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1 minute ago, Sophie said:

Thank you for your response. The club is Baja SAE, so we do off-road racing. I attached an image of our car and circled the shaft which we are thinking of making carbon. The shaft will only undergo torsion and is constrained to a diameter of 2 inches. Could I kindly ask for a recommendation of Rock West Composites drive shafts which could be used for this purpose?

Thank you in advance. 

Image-1.jpg

The concern here would be the tube getting hit by rocks and debris. Most off-road vehicles continue to use steel for this reason. Off-road cars also tend to see consistent speeds where you won't see as much long-term benefit through the race from carbon fiber. A lot of the benefit in carbon fiber driveshafts come from reducing weight so the engine doesn't have to overcome as much inertia during acceleration.

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Hello, I also had a question on this topic of joining a carbon fiber driveshaft to steel ends. I am also part of a Baja racing team building a similar car as shown above. We are attempting to use carbon fiber for the driveshaft of the vehicle since we can cut down on the weight of a steel drive shaft and the tube will be protected from debris since it is on the interior of the vehicle as well as protected by aluminum guarding. Would you have any recommendations on the type of epoxy or steps to adhere carbon fiber to steel? 

Thank you in advance!

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6 hours ago, Philip Stolarski said:

Hello, I also had a question on this topic of joining a carbon fiber driveshaft to steel ends. I am also part of a Baja racing team building a similar car as shown above. We are attempting to use carbon fiber for the driveshaft of the vehicle since we can cut down on the weight of a steel drive shaft and the tube will be protected from debris since it is on the interior of the vehicle as well as protected by aluminum guarding. Would you have any recommendations on the type of epoxy or steps to adhere carbon fiber to steel? 

Thank you in advance!

You definitely could! Just keep in mind this wouldn't be field serviceable, and if you're out at an event you probably want that. Just make sure you weigh your pros and cons carefully.

As for the epoxy, 3M Scotch-Weld Epoxy Adhesive DP420 is a good one. I've got a friend that might be able to chime in who does a lot of bonding. I'll see if he can pop in and give you some advice 🙂 

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Bonding carbon fiber and steel is commonplace. But like aluminum, there is the possibility of galvanic corrosion over time, depending on environmental conditions, and length of time in those conditions. For a limited season like yours, I wouldn’t worry about it, but if these are planned to be used again in subsequent seasons, you may want to take precautions. 
 

Isolation is achieved by limiting intimate contact. You can use fiberglass (120 style) or glass beads mixed into the bonding adhesive. In your case, glass beads are recommended. DP4XX or EA 9394 are great adhesives for bonding dissimilar materials. Both 120 and glass beads are available from Rock West. 
 

FYI, titanium and stainless steel are far less susceptible to galvanic corrosion. 

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