Carbon fiber has excellent mechanical properties and plays an important role in modern industry. However, due to the complexity of the carbon fiber widening process, the industrial application of carbon fiber is limited. By designing the carbon fiber widening equipment of automaton, the relationship between the widening width of carbon fiber and the process parameters is studied, and the optimum developing process parameters are obtained, to improve the performance of carbon fiber composites to a certain extent. In this study, the widening process of carbon fiber was studied based on the mechanical broadening method. Firstly, an automatic broadening equipment was designed, and the effects of the initial tension, the number of straight rods, the number of convex rods, and the drawing speed on the widened width during the broadening process were discussed. The widening effect was evaluated by SEM imaging and mechanical testing. At the same time, the factors affecting the broadening width and broadening defects during the broadening process were analyzed, and the optimal broadening process parameters were obtained. The results showed that within a specific range, a higher initial tension, a greater number of convex rods, and an appropriate speed resulted in relatively smaller damage to the broadening of carbon fibers. Through the design of automatic broadening, this experiment explores optimal broadening process parameters, provides a reference for the improvement of the carbon fiber broadening process and further promotes large-scale industrial applications of carbon fiber.
Keywords: continuous carbon fiber; mechanical widening; multi-factor; thin lamination; widened defect.