Composites

“Composite is a materials system composed of two or more

physically distinct phases whose combination produces
aggregate properties that are different from those of its
constituents”
 1.Composite Material Defined

• A materials system composed of two or

more physically distinct phases whose
combination produces aggregate properties
that are different from those of its
constituents
• Examples:
– Cemented carbides (WC with Co binder)
– Plastic molding compounds containing fillers
– Rubber mixed with carbon black
– Wood (a natural composite as distinguished
from a synthesized composite)
Composites consist of:
1. Combination of two or more materials Composite = matrix + fiber (filler):
• Matrix:
• material component that surrounds the fiber.
• Usually a ductile, or tough, material w/ low density
• Strength usually = 1/10 (or less) than that of fiber
• Examples include: thermoplastic or thermoset
• Thermoset most common (epoxy, pheneolic)
• Serves to hold the fiber (filler) in a favorable orientation.
• Fiber aka reinforcing material aka Filler:
• Materials that are strong with low densities
• Examples include glass, carbon or particles.
2. Designed to display a combination of the best characteristics of each material
i.e. fiberglass acquires strength from glass and flexibility from the polymer.
3. Matrix and filler bonded together (adhesive) or mechanically locked together!
 Why Composites are Important

• Composites can be very strong and stiff, yet very

light in weight, so ratios of strength-to-weight and
stiffness-to-weight are several times greater than
steel or aluminum
• Fatigue properties are generally better than for
common engineering metals
• Toughness is often greater too
• Composites can be designed that do not corrode like
steel
• Possible to achieve combinations of properties not
attainable with metals, ceramics, or polymers alone
 Summary:

Metals

Polymers

Ceramics

Composites
Classification
 Functions of the Matrix Material
(Primary Phase)
• Protect phases from environment
• Transfer Stresses to phases
• Holds the imbedded phase in place,
usually enclosing and often concealing
it
• When a load is applied, the matrix
shares the load with the secondary
phase, in some cases deforming so that
the stress is essentially born by the
reinforcing agent
Reinforcing Phase (Secondary)
Where are composites used??

CFRP – carbon
fiber reinforced
composite.

GFRP –
glass fiber
reinforced
composite
Where are composites used??
 Composites in industry

• Engineering applications
– Aerospace
– Automobile
– Pressure vessel and pipes
• Any place where high performance materials are desired

Turret Shield Bullet proof

Industrial
Medical Table shields
Spring
www.composiflex.com
Nature of Composites:

• Advantages:
– High strength to weight ratio (low density high tensile
strength) or high specific strength ratio!
• 1020 HRS spec strength = 1 (E6 in)
• Graphite/Epoxy, spec strength = 5 (E6 in)
– High creep resistance
– High tensile strength at elevated temperatures
– High toughness
– Generally perform better than steel or aluminum in
applications where cyclic loads are encountered leading
to potential fatigue failure (i.e. helicopter blades).
– Impact loads or vibration – composites can be specially
formulated with high toughness and high damping to
reduce these load inputs.
– Some composites can have much higher wear resistance
than metals.
– Corrosion resistance
– Dimensional changes due to temp changes can be much
less.
– Anisotropic – bi-directional properties can be design
advantage (i.e. helicopter blades)
Nature of Composites:

• Disadvantages (or limitations):

– Material costs
– Fabrication/ manufacturing difficulties
– Repair can be difficult
– Wider range of variability (statistical spread)
– Operating temperature can be an issue for
polymeric matrix (i.e. 500 F). Less an issue for
metal matrix (2,700 F).
– Properties non-isotropic makes design difficult!
• Example – video test in line w/ fibers 10X stronger vs
fibers oriented at an angle.
– Inspection and testing typically more complex.
 Metal & Ceramic Matrix Composites
• Cermets
– Ceramic (up to 90%) contained in a metallic matrix
– Cemented Carbides (tungsten, titanium, chromium)
– Cutting Tools, Dies, Indenters
• Fibre Reinforced
– Matrix is typically low density (e.g. al., mg., titanium)
– Fibres are typically Al2O3, Boron, Carbon, SiC
• Ceramic Matrix Composites
– Ceramic primary phase and fibres in secondary phase
 Classification of Composite
Materials by Matrix:
• Polymer matrix composites or Fiber
Reinforced Polymer (FRP)
– Fibers generally glass, carbon or kevlar
– Matric can be:
• Thermoplastics: PE, Nylon, PS, PP, PC, PVC
• Thermosets: Epoxy, polyester, phenolics
– Have high strength and stiffness to weight ratio
– Aerospace, sporting goods marine
– Examples: GFRP aka fiberglass (Polyester or Epoxy
and Glass), CFRP (Polyester or Epoxy and
carbon), KFRP (Polyester or Epoxy and Kevlar)
Ranking of Most Common
Fibers for FRP

Property Glass Carbon Kevlar

Strength Worst In - between Best
Stiffness Worst Best In – between
Cost Best Worst In – between
Weight Worst Best In-between
 Manufacturing FRP
• Hand lay-up
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GDqxnahwbk&list=PL9FC6FF2112573125&index=2

• Filament winding or Pultrusion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MoHNZB5b_Y

• Resin Transfer (or) Injection Molding (RTM)

http://www.scaled.com/index.html
http://www.ckcomposites.com/
 Classification of Composite
Materials by Matrix:
• Metal matrix composites (MMC):

– Metal matrix: Al, Ti, Mg, Fe, Cu, Ni

– Example: Al-SiC (silicon carbide)
– Example: Al-Al2O3 (aluminum oxide)
– High strength, high stiffness, abrasion
resistance, dimensional stability, high
temperature and toughness.

= matrix
 Classification of Composite
Materials by Matrix:
• Ceramic matrix composites
(CMC):

– Silicon carbide-silicon carbide (SiC-SiC)

– Same material both matrix and filler BUT filler
different form such as whickers, chopped
fibers or strands to achieve preferred
properties.

= matrix
Nature of Composites:

• The strength of the composite depends

primarily on the amount, arrangement
and type of fiber (or particle)
reinforcement in the resin.
• Typically, the higher the reinforcement
content, the greater the strength. In
some cases, glass fibers are combined
with other fibers, such as carbon or
aramid (Kevlar29 and Kevlar49), to
create a "hybrid" composite that
combines the properties of more than
one reinforcing material.
Classification of Composite
by Filler Type:

– Particle-reinforced composites
– Fiber-reinforced composites
– Structural composites
 Particle Reinforced Composites:
• Particles used for reinforcing include:
– ceramics and glasses such as small mineral particles,
– metal particles such as aluminum,
– and amorphous materials, including polymers and carbon black.
• Particles are used to increase the modulus of the matrix, to
decrease the permeability of the matrix, or to decrease the
ductility of the matrix.
• Particle reinforced composites support higher tensile,
compressive and shear stresses
• Particles are also used to produce inexpensive composites.
• Examples:
– automobile tire which has carbon black particles in a matrix of
elastomeric polymer.
– spheroidized steel where cementite is transformed into a spherical
shape which improves the machinability of the material.
– concrete where the aggregtes ( sand and gravel) are the particles
and cement is the matrix.
Figure 1. Examples for particle-reinforced composites.
(Spheroidized steel and automobile tire)
 Fiber-reinforced Composites:
• Reinforcing fibers can be made of metals, ceramics, glasses, or polymers
that have been turned into graphite and known as carbon fibers. Fibers
increase the modulus of the matrix material. The strong covalent bonds
along the fiber's length gives them a very high modulus in this direction
because to break or extend the fiber the bonds must also be broken or
moved. Fibers are difficult to process into composites which makes fiber-
reinforced composites relatively expensive. Fiber-reinforced composites
are used in some of the most advanced, and therefore most expensive,
sports equipment, such as a time-trial racing bicycle frame which
consists of carbon fibers in a thermoset polymer matrix. Body parts of
race cars and some automobiles are composites made of glass fibers (or
fiberglass) in a thermoset matrix.
• The arrangement or orientation of the fibers relative to one another, the
fiber concentration, and the distribution all have a significant influence
on the strength and other properties of fiber-reinforced composites.
Applications involving totally multidirectional applied stresses normally
use discontinuous fibers, which are randomly oriented in the matrix
material. Consideration of orientation and fiber length for a particular
composites depends on the level and nature of the applied stress as well
as fabrication cost. Production rates for short-fiber composites (both
aligned and randomly oriented) are rapid, and intricate shapes can be
formed which are not possible with continuous fiber reinforcement.
Note: Fiber composite
manufacturers often rotate layers of
fibers to avoid directional variations
in the modulus.
The modulus of the entire composite, matrix plus reinforcer,is governed by the rule of
mixtures:

Stiff and Strong!!

Soft and Weak!
See case study at end!!
 Structural Composites:
• The properties of structural composites
depend on:
– Constituents
– Geometrical design
 Structural Composites:
• Common structural composite types are:
– Laminar: Is composed of two-dimensional sheets
or panels that have a preferred high strength
direction such as is found in wood and
continuous and aligned fiber-reinforced plastics.
The layers are stacked and cemented together
such that the orientation of the high-strength
direction varies with each successive layer.
One example of a relatively complex structure is
modern ski and another example is plywood.
 Structural Composites:
• Common structural composite types are:
– Sandwich Panels: Consist of two strong outer
sheets which are called face sheets and may be
made of aluminum alloys, fiber reinforced
plastics, titanium alloys, steel. Face sheets carry
most of the loading and stresses. Core may be a
honeycomb structure which has less density than
the face sheets and resists perpendicular
stresses and provides shear rigidity. Sandwich
panels can be used in variety of applications
which include roofs, floors, walls of buildings and
in aircraft, for wings, fuselage and tailplane skins.
Show example (ref: bh
user’s conference)
 Material property- charts: modulus - density

1000

Ceramics

100
Young’s modulus E, (GPa)

Composites

10 Woods

Metals

1
Foams
Polymers

0.1

Elastomers
0.01
0.1 1 10 100
Density (Mg/m3)
 Rule of Mixtures (cont.)
• F = Fibers
• R = Resin
• C = Composites
Beige = Resin
• VF = Fiber volume fraction Black = Fibers
• Density White = Voids

• Longitudinal Modulus
• Transverse Modulus
 Rule of Mixtures (cont.)
• In Plane Shear Modulus
• Major Poisson’s ratio
• Longitudinal Strength
 Rule of Mixtures (cont.)
• This gives :
– E1, E2, G12 & 12
• The remaining missing values can be
approximated using an assumption of transverse
isotropy (Mil-Handbook-17)
– E3=E2, G21=G32, 21=32
• Out of plane Shear Modulus
– G21=(E2)/2(1+ 21)
• Estimate or measure 21