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Both carbon fiber and steel will have an indefinite lifespan since neither steel nor carbon fiber suffer metal fatigue, ie as long as you don't exceed their tensile strength rating they will not weaken. Aluminum on the other hand will always have a limited lifespan since the metal actually weakens every time it gets put through a cycle, even if you don't approach its tensile strength limit. Every time you stress it, it becomes just a little bit weaker. The first jet airliners were falling out of the sky because of this. Just from pressurising the cabin each time they took off, the aluminum would weaken around the window frames and eventually it would burst once they pressurised after takeoff. Damn I love the History Channel.
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