Short cut carbon fiber has been used in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles and low altitude aircraft through material performance innovation and manufacturing process breakthroughs, promoting lightweight fuselage, structural strengthening, and functional integration. This is manifested in the following core dimensions:

1、 Lightweight and structural strengthening

1. Body frame reduces weight and increases efficiency

The density of short cut carbon fiber reinforced resin based composite material (CFRP) is only 1/4 of aluminum alloy, and its strength is 7-9 times that of steel. After adopting a carbon fiber main frame, a logistics drone reduced its weight by 38% and increased its bending stiffness by 2.3 times. It still maintains a range of 400 kilometers when carrying 150 kilograms of cargo. The composite material usage in eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft) exceeds 70%, reducing the body weight by 30% -40% and significantly extending the endurance time.

2. Breakthrough in rotor performance

The rigidity of carbon fiber propellers is three times higher than traditional materials, the weight is reduced by 60%, the rotor load is reduced by 45%, and the motor energy consumption is reduced by 28%; Its internal damping characteristics reduce vibration amplitude by 80% and extend the lifespan of core components. The carbon fiber rotor of military drones can withstand high temperatures of 300 ℃ and strong airflow impacts, while the blade noise of civilian aerial drones is reduced by 15 decibels, and the range is extended by 20 minutes.

2、 Function integration and adaptation to special environments

3. Electromagnetic compatibility optimization

The transparent carbon fiber radar cover has a transmission rate of 98% in the 10GHz frequency band, ensuring lossless transmission of communication signals. A certain reconnaissance drone integrated it inside the wing, reducing weight by 15% while achieving antenna pointing accuracy of 0.1 °.

4. Extreme environmental stability

Short cut carbon fiber composite materials maintain stability in a wide temperature range of -180 ℃ to 350 ℃, with low thermal expansion coefficient and corrosion resistance, improving the reliability of aircraft under harsh conditions such as low temperature and high humidity. Tests have shown that the impact resistance of carbon fiber shell is better than that of metal, and the damage rate in hail weather is 80% lower than that of aluminum alloy.

3、 Manufacturing process innovation and cost optimization

5. Integration of 3D printing technology

Continuous short cut carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic materials (such as PA-CF) support rapid prototyping of complex structures

6. The cost reduction path of large silk bundles

Carbon fiber bundles with a diameter of over 48K have a lower cost of 30% -50% compared to other bundles, making them suitable for non load bearing components of industrial grade unmanned aerial vehicles (such as shells and brackets). This promotes the penetration rate of carbon fiber in low altitude aircraft from 10% to scale.

4、 Industrial Ecology and Sustainability

Explosive demand: The demand for carbon fiber in the eVTOL field is expected to reach 25.9 million pounds by 2030, a 22 fold increase from 2024; The global low altitude economy carbon fiber market size is expected to exceed 5 billion US dollars by 2025.

Domestic substitution: Domestic enterprises have reduced costs to 70% of the international level through mass production of 48K large fiber bundles, and the proportion of domestic carbon fiber applications in drone structural components has exceeded 60%.

Circular economy: Recycled carbon fiber (CRCF) technology recovers retired components, retains 70% of mechanical properties, reduces carbon emissions by 10-15 tons/ton, and is applied to non load bearing components.

Technological turning point: Short cut carbon fiber is transitioning from "high-end military" to "civilian popularization", driven by low-cost large fiber bundle mass production and mature 3D printing technology. It is expected that the demand for carbon fiber in the low altitude field will reach 40000 tons by 2030, and the proportion of recycled materials will rise to 25%.