Concepts of composites :

 Fibers or particles (used as reinforcement) embedded in

matrix (used as binder) with another material are the
best example of modern-day composite materials.
 Laminates are composite material where different
layers of materials give them the specific character of a
composite material having a specific function to
perform
 A fabric is defined as a manufactured assembly of long
fibres of carbon or glass, or a combination of these, to
produce a flat sheet of one or more layers of fibres.
 Fabrics have no matrix to fall back on, but in them,
fibers of different compositions combine to give them a
specific character.
 Reinforcing materials generally withstand maximum
load and serve the desirable properties.
 Composites are generally distinguished into
microscopic and macroscopic.
 In matrix-based structural composites, the matrix serves
two paramount purposes viz., binding the
reinforcement phases in place and deforming to
distribute the stresses among the constituent
reinforcement materials under an applied force.
 The demands on matrices are many. They may need to
temperature variations, be conductors or resistors of
electricity, have moisture sensitivity etc. This may offer
weight advantages, ease of handling and other merits
which may also become applicable depending on the
purpose for which matrices are chosen.
 Matrix materials remain elastic till failure occurs and
show decreased failure strain, when loaded in tension
and compression
 The primary functions of the resin are to transfer stress
between the reinforcing fibers, act as a glue to hold the
fibers together, and protect the fibers from mechanical
and environmental damage.
 Resins used in reinforced polymer composites are either
thermoplastic or thermoset.

 Epoxy is a thermosetting matrix resin and among the

most commonly used resin systems in
the composites industry. It's frequently used with
continuous carbon fiber in aerospace, race car, marine
and other high-performance applications.
Classification of composites:
 The first level of classification is usually made with
respect to the matrix constituent. The major composite
classes include Organic Matrix Composites (OMCs),
Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) and Ceramic
Matrix Composites (CMCs). The term organic matrix
composite is generally assumed to include two classes
of composites, namely Polymer Matrix Composites
(PMCs) and carbon matrix composites commonly
referred to as carbon-carbon composites.
 The second level of classification refers to the
reinforcement form – fibre reinforced composites,
laminar composites and particulate composites.
 Fibre Reinforced Composites are composed of fibres
embedded in matrix material. Fibre Reinforced
composites (FRP) can be further divided into those
containing discontinuous or continuous fibres.
 Laminar Composites are composed of layers of
materials held together by matrix. Sandwich structures
fall under this category.
 Particulate Composites are composed of particles
distributed or embedded in a matrix body. The particles
may be flakes or in powder form. Concrete and wood
particle boards are examples of this category.
Classification of Matrix materials:
Polymer Matrix Composites (PMC)
 Polymers make ideal materials as they can be processed
easily, possess lightweight, and desirable mechanical
properties.
 It follows, therefore, that high temperature resins are
extensively used in aeronautical applications.
 Two main kinds of polymers are thermosets and
thermoplastics
 The word plastic comes from the Greek word Plastikos,
meaning “able to be shaped and molded”. Plastics can
be broadly classified into two major groups on the basis
of their chemical structure i.e. thermoplastics and
thermosetting plastics.
Thermoplastics
 The material that softens when heated above the glass
transition temperature or melting temperature and
becomes hard after cooling is called thermoplastics.
 Thermoplastics can be reversibly melted by heating and
solidified by cooling in limited number of cycles
without affecting the mechanical properties.
 On increasing the number of recycling of thermoplastics
may result in color degradation, thereby affecting their
appearance and properties.
 In the molten state, they are liquids, and in the mushy
state they are glassy or partially crystalline.
 The important properties of the thermoplastics are high
strength and toughness, better hardness, chemical
resistance, durability, transparency and water proofing.
 With the application of heat, thermoplastic softens and it
can be molded into desired shapes. Some thermoplastics
can be joined with the application of heat and pressure.
 There are several techniques available for the joining of
thermoplastics such as mechanical fastening, fusion
bonding, hot gas welding, solvent bonding, ultrasonic
welding, induction welding, and dielectric welding.
 The different types of thermoplastic are: Acrylonitrile
Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Acetals,Acrylics, Cellulosics,
Fluorocarbons, Polyamides, Polycarbonates,
Polyethylene (PE),Polypropylenes (PP), Polystyrenes,
Polyetherketone, Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Liquid
Crystal Polymers (LCP), Polyphenylene Sulphide (PPS)
and Vinyls
 Thermoplastics can be used to manufacture the
dashboards and car trims, toys, phones,
handles,electrical products, bearings, gears, rope, hinges
and catches, glass frames, cables, hoses, sheet,and
windows, etc.
Thermosets
 The property of material becoming permanently hard
and rigid after cooling when heated above the melting
temperature is called thermosets.
 The solidification process of plastics is known as curing.
The transformation from the liquid state to the solid
state is irreversible process, further heating of
thermosets result only in the chemical decomposition
 It means that the thermosets can’t be recycled.
Therefore, the mechanical properties (tensile strength,
compressive strength, and hardness) are not temperature
dependent, as compared to thermoplastics.
 Hence, thermosets are generally stronger than the
thermoplastics.
 The joining of thermosets by thermal processes like
ultrasonic welding, laser welding, and gas welding is not
possible, but mechanical fastening and adhesive
bonding may be used for low strength applications.
 The different types of thermosets are Alkyds, Allylics,
Amine, Bakelite, Epoxy, Phenolic (PF), Polyester,
Silicone, Polyurethane (PUR), and Vinyl Ester.
 Thermosets are commonly used for high temperature
applications. Some of the common products are
electrical equipments, motor brush holders, printed
circuit boards, circuit breakers, encapsulation, kitchen
utensils, handles and knobs, and spectacle lenses.
Metal Matrix Composites (MMC)
 Metal matrix composites are generating a wide interest in research fraternity
 High strength,fracture toughness and stiffness are offered by metal
matrices than those offered by their polymer counterparts.
 They can withstand elevated temperature in corrosive environment than
polymer composites.
 Most metals and alloys could be used as matrices and they require
reinforcement materials which need to be stable over a range of temperature
and non-reactive too.
 Titanium, Aluminium and magnesium are the popular matrix metals currently
in vogue, which are particularly useful for aircraft applications.
 If metallic matrix materials have to offer high strength, they require high
modulus reinforcements. . The choice of reinforcements becomes more
stunted with increase in the melting temperature of matrix materials.
Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC)
 Ceramics can be described as solid materials which exhibit very strong
bonding.
 High melting points, good corrosion resistance, stability at elevated
temperatures and high compressive strength, render ceramic-based matrix
materials a favourite for applications requiring a structural material.
 Naturally, ceramic matrices are the obvious choice for high temperature
applications above 1500ºC.
 High modulus of elasticity and low tensile strain, which most ceramics
posses, have combined to cause the failure of attempts to add reinforcements
to obtain strength improvement.
 Addition of high-strength fiber to a weaker ceramic has not always been
successful and often the resultant composite has proved to be weaker.
 When ceramics have a higher thermal expansion coefficient
than reinforcement materials, the resultant composite is unlikely
to have a superior level of strength.
 In that case, the composite will develop strength within ceramic at
the time of cooling resulting in microcracks extending from fiber
to fiber within the matrix.
 The best known ceramics are pottery, glass, porcelain and cement.
Introduction to Reinforcements
 Reinforcements for the composites can be fibers, fabric particles or
whiskers.
 Reinforcing constituents in composites, as the word indicates, provide the
strength that makes the composite what it is.
 But they also serve certain additional purposes of heat resistance or
conduction, resistance to corrosion and provide rigidity.
 Reinforcement can be made to perform all or one of these functions as
per the requirements.
 A reinforcement that embellishes the matrix strength must be stronger
and stiffer than the matrix and capable of changing failure mechanism to
the advantage of the composite.
 This means that the ductility should be minimal or even nil the composite
must behave as brittle as possible.
Classification of reinforcements:
Fiber Reinforced Composites/Fibre Reinforced Polymer
(FRP) Composites :
 Fibers are the important class of reinforcements, as they satisfy
the desired conditions and transfer strength to the matrix
constituent influencing and enhancing their properties as desired.
 Glass fibers are the earliest known fibers used to reinforce
materials.
 Ceramic and metal fibers were subsequently found out and put to
extensive use, to render composites stiffer more resistant to heat.
 Organic and inorganic fibers are used to reinforce composite
materials.
 Almost all organic fibers have low density, flexibility, and
elasticity.
 Inorganic fibers are of high modulus, high thermal stability and
possess greater rigidity than organic fibers.
Laminar Composites :
 Laminar composites are described as materials comprising of
layers of materials bonded together.
 These may be of several layers of two or more metal materials
occurring alternately or in a determined order more than once,
and in as many numbers as required for a specific purpose.
 Sandwich structures fall under this category.
 Powder metallurgical processes like roll bonding, hot pressing,
diffusion bonding, brazing and so on can be employed for the
fabrication of different alloys of sheet, foil, powder or sprayed
materials.
Particulate Reinforced Composites :
 Particulate Composites are composed of particles
distributed or embedded in a matrix body.
 The particles may be flakes or in powder form.
 Concrete and wood particle boards are examples of this
category.
Whiskers :
 Single crystals grown with nearly zero defects are termed whiskers.
 They are usually discontinuous and short fibers of different cross sections
made from several materials like graphite, silicon carbide, copper, iron etc.
 Whiskers can have extraordinary strengths upto 7000 MPa.
 Early research has shown that whisker strength varies inversely with effective
diameter.
 When whiskers were embedded in matrices, whiskers of diameter upto 2 to
10µm yielded fairly good composites.
 Ceramic material’s whiskers have high moduli, useful strengths and low
densities.
 Specific strength and specific modulus are very high and this makes ceramic
whiskers suitable for low weight structure composites.
 They also resist temperature, mechanical damage and oxidation more
responsively than metallic whiskers, which are denser than ceramic whiskers.
Cermets/Ceramal :
 A CerMet is a composite material composed of ceramic (Cer) and
metallic (Met) materials.
 A Cermet is ideally designed to have the optimal properties of both a
ceramic, such as high temperature resistance and hardness, and those of
a metal, such as the ability to undergo plastic deformation.
 It is used in the manufacture of resistors, capacitors, and other
electronic components which may experience high temperatures.
 Some types of cermet are also being considered for use as spacecraft
shielding as they resist the high velocity impacts of micrometeoroids
and orbital debris much more effectively than more traditional
spacecraft materials such as aluminum and other metals.
 Cermets are also used in dentistry as a material for fillings and
prostheses. Also it used in machining on cutting tools.
Advantages of Composites :
 High resistance corrosion degradation.
 Due to greater reliability, there are fewer inspections and
structural repairs.
 Improved dent resistance is normally achieved. Composite panels
do not sustain damage as easily as thin gage sheet metals.
 It is easier to achieve smooth aerodynamic profiles for drag
reduction.
 Composites are dimensionally stable.
 Close tolerances can be achieved without machining.
Limitations of Composites:
 High cost of raw materials and fabrication.
 Composites are more brittle
 Reuse and disposal may be difficult.
 Materials require refrigerated transport and storage and have
limited shelf life.
 Analysis is difficult.
 Matrix is subject to environmental degradation.