Performance of Carbon Fiber Composite Structure

Dear Colleagues,

Carbon fiber composite structures have become essential in high-performance applications across multiple industries, including aerospace, automotive, civil infrastructure, and renewable energy. Known for their exceptional strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance, and durability, carbon fiber composites enhance structural efficiency and reduce material consumption. However, the continued advancement of these structures requires an in-depth understanding of their performance under diverse loading conditions, environmental exposures, and high-temperature settings.

This Special Issue revolves around the innovations and challenges in carbon fiber composite structures, with an emphasis on enhancing their structural performance, reliability, and cost-efficiency. Key areas of focus include: (i) advanced manufacturing techniques and processing parameters to improve material quality and consistency, (ii) studies on the fatigue, impact, and environmental resistance of carbon fiber composites under variable loading, operational conditions, and high-temperature matrices, where both fiber and matrix exhibit high-temperature resistance, (iii) computational and experimental approaches to model and predict failure mechanisms, and (iv) the integration of self-sensing or self-healing capabilities to extend the service life of these composites.

Additionally, with a growing focus on sustainability, there is increasing interest in recycling carbon fibers, developing eco-friendly resins, and employing artificial intelligence (AI) for material design, predictive maintenance, and performance optimization. Studies that explore the cost analyses and economic impacts of carbon fiber composites are also encouraged to provide insights into the financial feasibility of these advanced materials across industries.

This Special Issue seeks to bring together experimental and theoretical contributions that advance the knowledge on carbon fiber composite structures, from their fundamental mechanical properties to their innovative applications. Submissions in the form of full-length articles, short communications, and review papers are invited, focusing on topics such as the following:

• Enhanced manufacturing processes and quality control for high-performance carbon fiber composites;
• Novel modeling and testing approaches to predict fatigue, impact, and aging in high-temperature-resistant carbon fiber matrix systems;
• Applications of AI in the design, optimization, and monitoring of carbon fiber composites;
• Self-sensing, self-healing, and adaptive composite systems for real-time performance monitoring and extended lifetimes;
• Development and performance assessment of sustainable and recyclable carbon fiber composites;
• Cost analysis studies related to the implementation and lifecycle of carbon fiber structures in various sectors.

This Special Issue aims to contribute to the engineering community to facilitate and optimize the design, testing, and application of carbon fiber composite structures in structural and non-structural applications.

Dr. Vahid Daghigh
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fibers is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• carbon fiber composites
• high-temperature matrices
• structural performance
• sustainable composites
• advanced manufacturing
• self-sensing composites
• self-healing materials
• artificial intelligence in carbon composites