Treatment of vapor-grown carbon fibers for fiber-polymer matrix composites

摘要

Vapor-grown carbon fibers from methane produced in globular clumps of individual fibers of about 0.5 to 50 micrometers in length are rendered infiltratable and wettable with molten plastic for composite molding article manufacture by careful ball milling to reduce the clump size to a dimension of no greater than about 0.3 millimeters without reducing the average fiber length to less than about 20 percent of the original fiber length.