Airbus rudder

This is part of the rudder of the A 320 Airbus. The rudder is made of a carbon-fibre composite, which is considered to be the material of the future.

The starting materials are natural or artificial fibres such as viscose or polyacrylonitrile. Their carbon atoms rearrange when heated.

The fibres are partly decomposed at about 350°C; this strips off most of the atoms except the carbon. When the temperature is increased to about 1000°C (carbonizing), the carbon atoms join up to form three-dimensional lattices. At 2800°C (graphitizing), the proportion of carbon in the fibre reaches 99 %.