Carbon Nanotubes VS Kevlar
I have been looking lately at the many different applications of the Carbon Nanotubes technology, and did some extra research on the possible automotive applications and chassis in particular.
[B][U]FACTS[/U][/B]
- Up to now, the most technically advanced material that is used for chassis construction is Carbon Fibre composites.
- The tensile strength of the basic fibre used in F1 according to the rules must be 2.6 GPa [url=http://atlasf1.autosport.com/2000/jpn/preview/gray.html]The F1 Rulebook[/url].
- Carbon Nanotubes' tensile strength (Armchair Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes) is 4 times stronger compared to Kevlar (126 GPa vs 30 GPa) [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_nanotube#Strength]Carbon nanotube - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/url]
[B][U]INQUIRY[/U][/B]
Can Carbon Nanotubes be used as the next generation of materials of F1 chassis construction?
- A very fast prediction would be that since Carbon Nanotubes' tensile strength is 4 times bigger than Kevlar's, [B][U]maybe[/U][/B] an equivalent F1 Chassis would be 4 times lighter
- In any case, a next generation of very strong chassis construction materials would mean that carbon technology could be filtered to many more road cars. After all the Lotus Elise chassis was revolutionary in 1995, but a 2015 carbon interpretation for the same money would be far better ;)