Sports
New records and sporting wins
Industry
Today, sport is not just a hobby or job. Sport is a way of living, continuous self-improvement, pushing oneself beyond their limits. Global manufacturers of sports gear and wear are using state-of-the-art technologies for continuous improvement of the sports industry.
Ultralight bicycles, skis, snowboards, skateboards, longboards for downhill racing, tennis rackets, hockey sticks, golf clubs, and many more items are made of carbon fiber composites.
Advantages of carbon composites
Carbon fiber prevails over glass fiber, aluminum, and other metals in sports gear by many parameters. Carbon fiber is lighter, stronger, more resilient, vibration damping, contemporary, and neat-looking.
Advantages of carbon fiber composites over conventional materials in sports gear:
- Light weight
- High strength
- Low deformability
- Vibration resistance
- High specific rigidity
Carbon fiber versus other materials
| Fiber type |
Tensile strength, MPa | Tensile modulus, GPa | Elongation at break, % | Density, g/cm3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon fiber made of PAN precursor | high strength, standard modulus | 3500-5000 | 200-280 | 1.4-2.0 | 1.75-1.80 |
| high strength, intermediate modulus | 4500-7000 | 280-325 | 1.7-2.1 | 1.73-1.81 | |
| high modulus | 3500-5000 | 325-450 | 0.7-1.4 | 1.75-1.85 | |
| ultra high modulus | 2500-4000 | 450-600 | 0.7-1.0 | 1.85-1.95 | |
| Glass | E-glass | 2500-3800 | 70-75 | 4.5-4.7 | 2.5-2.7 |
| S-glass | 4000-4500 | 80-90 | 5.0-5.3 | 2.5 | |
| Organic | Aramid | 3000-3600 | 60-180 | 2.4-3.6 | 1.45 |
| Polyethylene | 200-3000 | 5-170 | 3-80 | 0.96 | |
| Steel | high strength | 1200-2800 | 200 | 3.5 | 7.8 |
| stainless | 800-2000 | 190 | 3.0 | 7.8 | |
| Basalt | 3000-4800 | 90-110 | 3.0 | 2.6-2.8 | |
| Boron | 3500-4000 | 350-400 | 0.5-0.7 | 2.6 | |
Applications
Carbon fiber helps sports performers win, create records, use sports gear longer.
Dozens of items for different events are made of carbon fiber and composites. Those include bicycles, hockey sticks, golf clubs, skis, ski poles, snowboards, skateboards, and longboards.
Carbon fiber materials are also used for sports wear and protective outfit: knee pads, elbow pads, etc.
Experience
Carbon fiber is widely used for sports gear.
Zaryad in Naberezhnye Chelny manufactures hockey sticks with high strength carbon fiber from UMATEX. The lightweight and strong hockey sticks are fully compliant with international standards. By some parameters they prove to be superior to standards.
Lightweight and strong carbon fiber reinforced plastic is used in ski sports. A sports performer with carbon skis can pick up a greater speed by the same effort.
Audi and the German Ski Association developed hi-tech Audi Carbon Skis. They feature a wooden core wrapped in layers of aluminum and titanium and coated with high strength carbon fiber. The skis weigh 1,550 grams which is 200 grams lighter than their competitors. Carbon fiber allows for optimal strength and torsional rigidity performance.
Summary
Carbon fiber composites in sports gear are driving out conventional materials such as wood and metal alloys.
Carbon fiber reinforced plastic is much lighter, stronger, more resilient, and vibration resistant. The said properties help sport performers create records.