Composite Materials

Lecture 1
Composite Materials
Dr Mohsin Saleem

1
 History of composites

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Lecture 1
 History of Composites

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Lecture 1
 History of Composites

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Lecture 1
 History of Composites

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Lecture 1
 History of Composites

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Lecture 1
Composites
Composites areare heterogeneous
heterogeneous materials.
materials.
(i)
(i) Natural
Natural –– wood,
wood,
(ii)
(ii) Synthetic
Synthetic –– PMCs,
PMCs, MMCs,
MMCs, CMCs
CMCs etc.
etc.
The
The synthetic,
synthetic, man-made
man-made materials,
materials, possessing
possessing high
high strength
strength and/or
and/or stiffness
stiffness
relative
relative to
to weight
weight which
which are
are used
used in
in high
high performance
performance structural
structural applications.
applications.

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Lecture 1
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 History of Composites

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 History of Composites

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 Applications

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 Applications

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 Applications

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Composite Materials
• A heterogeneous mixture of two or more phases which have been bonded
together
• The constituent phases should be present in reasonable proportions, they
should have different properties from each other and from the resultant
material, and they should be intimately mixed and combined to give the

Composite Materials
Lecture 1
resultant composite material
• The performance and properties of the combination are designed to be
superior to those of constituents acting independently
• The enhancement of properties can be in terms of mechanical, electrical,
thermal or any other physical property
• Many natural materials designed for load-bearing are composites in
structure: wood and bone
• Wood is made up of fibrous chains of cellulose molecules in a lignin matrix
• Bones are essentially composed of hard inorganic crystals in a matrix of 13
tough organic constituent
Constituents
• One or more discontinuous phases embedded in a continuous phase
• The discontinuous phase is usually harder and stronger than the
continuous phase, called the reinforcement
• The continuous phase is termed the matrix
• The reinforcement provides the main strength and stiffness to the

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Lecture 1
composite material: fibres, particles, whiskers, flakes
• The matrix serves to bind the fibres together, transfer loads to the
fibres, and protect them against environmental attack: resin
• A high fibre aspect ratio (length/diameter) permits very effective
transfer of load via matrix to the fibres
• The resulting composite material combines very strong and stiff
fibres within a matrix to form a material of much greater strength,
stiffness and toughness than the fibres and the matrix acting alone 14
 Fibres

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 Resins

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 Fibre Composites

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 M=0
R=100
R
M

concentration
R=0
M=100

Failure Analysis and Fractography

18

Lecture 1
Advantages
• Low density (lower than aluminum)
• High strength (as strong as high-strength steels)
• High stiffness (stiffer than titanium, yet much lower in density)
• Good fatigue resistance, Good creep resistance

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• Low friction coefficient and good wear resistance
• Toughness and impact damage tolerance
• Chemical resistance
• Corrosion resistance
• Dimensional stability (can be designed for zero CTE)
• Vibration damping ability
• Controllable electrical and thermal resistivity and conductivity
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• High electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness
Classification on basis of matrix

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Classification on basis of matrix

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 Failure Analysis and Fractography
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Classification on basis of reinforcements

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Classification on basis of reinforcements

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 Comparison of Properties

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 Comparison of Properties

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 Comparison of Properties

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 Comparison of Properties

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 Strengths
• Weight reduction
• High specific stiffness & strength
• Low maintenance cost
• Corrosion resistance
• Design flexibility & integrated parts
• Large, complex structures can be created in one piece

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• Pigmentation and textures can be incorporated directly into the
composite at the manufacturing stage
• Environmentally friendly
• Low energy consumption in manufacture
• Safety
• Crush structures
• Durability 29
• Carbon fibre reinforced plastics possess excellent fatigue properties
• Glass fibre reinforced plastics are excellent electrical insulators
Design of composite materials
Effects of anisotropy
• Aligning fibres in direction of load
(i.e. producing unidirectional
composite) produces the highest
properties
– Perpendicular load carrying capacity

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Lecture 2
becomes rather poor
– Can be relieved by placing fibres in
transverse direction, but lowers
effective properties

There are three levels of orientation

– Random (quasi-isotropic properties)
– Cross-ply (transversely isotropic) 30
– Unidirectional (orthotropic)
Benefits from anisotropy

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Lecture 2
Orienting the reinforcements in the direction of the applied loads has a
significant effect on the properties of the final composite
– Properties are roughly equal to the stiffness × volume fraction of the fibres
– In unidirectional orientation, there are more fibres in the loading 31
direction than in the random orientation
Effect of aligning fibres

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Lecture 2
For random orientations,
improvement of properties over
metallic materials is not that
significant.
– Need to use CFRP which
equates to higher costs

32
Composite weaknesses
• Costs of processing still high
• Most processing methods require a huge investment in manual labour
and/or machinery
• Absence of mass production technology for high-
performance composites

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Lecture 2
• Typical routes are pre-preg which is performed either by manual layup
or by tape layup
• Recycling of thermosets impractical
• Only real route apart from regrinding as filler is pyrolysis
• Recycling of thermoplastics with glass fibres difficult
• Option is to regrind long-fibre composites as lower grades for injection
moulding
33
• Lack of knowledge in designing with anisotropic materials
Composite weaknesses (cont…)

• Uncertainty regarding long-term properties

• Factors such as moisture degradation, damage tolerance after
impact requires large safety margins in design
• Uncertainties in predicting failure modes

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• Crack propagation mechanisms, damage tolerance after impact
delamination etc.
• Aircraft industry works on a zero crack tolerance approach
(structures are therefore over designed)
• Inadequate industrial capacity (world annual production
of carbon only about 30,000 tonnes/annum)
• The use of just 20% structural weight of carbon in the Airbus
A380 is consuming all excess production 34
Performance versus Production Rate
Ideal situation for composite takeup
would be to have high modulus parts
capable of being produced at over 1000
parts per day

Composite Materials
Lecture 2
?

35
 Factors favourable for metal substitution
• Composites are seldom used for just one benefit
• It is usual that a combination of properties is required before they are
used to substitute for alternative materials
• Most successful composite designs are NOT direct shape
replacements for an existing metal component

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Lecture 2
• Design should incorporate aspects of the composite
• Features such as anisotropy and mouldability should be used to achieve
a cost effective product

The gain achieved in using composites to

achieve these objectives is greater than the
costs associated with using composites 36
Costs $ saved (Fuel) / kg weight reduction per lifetime

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Lecture 2
• Car <1
• Subway 15
• Aircraft 200
• Satellite 5,000

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Future Applications

• Off-shore applications
• Alternative energy

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Lecture 2
• Infrastructure – repair
• Sustainable
development
• Passenger cars

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Fibres
• Glass fibres • Carbon fibres
• Original structural reinforcement • Best known & most widely used
& most common high performance fibre
• Competitively priced & widely • Wide range of mechanical
available properties
• Ease of processing & good • Expensive
handleability

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E-glass: Most common glass fibre
Useful balance of mechanical,
chemical & electrical properties Typical properties of carbon fibres
Strength 3.5-6.4 GPa
Strength 3.45 GPa
Stiffness 240-310 GPa
Stiffness 75.8 GPa
Density ~1.85 g/cm3
Density 2.56 g/cm3
Diameter
Diameter 5-10 mm
8-15 mm
Cost ~20 $/kg 39
Cost ~1.5-4.5 $/kg
Fibres
• Aramid fibres • SiC & Alumina (Al2O3)
• Polymer polyamide fibre • Used in MMCs and CMCs for high
• High tensile stiffness & strength temperature applications
• Lowest density and highest • Good thermal stability
strength/weight ratio of all fibres • SiC ~ 650°C, Alumina ~1370°C
• Very poor compressive properties
• Boron fibres
• Most commonly known as Kevlar

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• Excellent strength and stiffness
• High compressive strength because of
resistance to buckling
Kevlar-49: Most common aramid • More expensive than carbon fibres
reinforcement fibre • Used in PMCs and MMCs
Strength 3.45 GPa • High performance thermoplastics
Stiffness 180 GPa • Highly drawn ultra high molecular weight
Density ~1.4 g/cm3 polyethylene (UHMWPE)
Diameter ~12 mm • Long molecular chains oriented and
Cost ~20 $/kg crystallized in fibre direction
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• Natural fibres
• Derived from plants, i.e. eco-friendly
• Lower density, strength and stiffness
Polymer Matrices
• Two types of polymer matrices: thermosets
and thermoplastics
• Thermosets (b) have cross-linked or network
structures with covalent bonds between

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Lecture 2
all molecules
• They do not melt but decompose on heating
• Once solidified by cross-linking (curing)
process, they can not be reshaped
• Thermoplastics (a) soften or melt on heating like metals
• They consist of linear or branched-chain molecules having
strong intra-molecular bonds but weak intermolecular bonds
Thermosetting resins
• Most widely used resins
• Low viscosity means good adhesion (bonding) between resin and fibre,
resulting in high mechanical properties
Offer
• Good mechanical properties

Composite Materials Lecture 2

• Good dimensional stability at higher temperatures
• Good moisture and chemical resistance

Problem
• Limited storage life at room temperature
• Long fabrication time in the mould
• Low strain to failure (brittle) means low impact strength

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 Matrices – thermosetting resins
• Polyester resins • Epoxy resins
• Most commonly used resin & wide • Most used resin for advanced
range of formulations, curing composites
agents, etc. • Very good mechanical and
• Acceptable mechanical properties & thermal properties
acceptable environmental durability • Low shrinkage on cure
• Low viscosity, very good adhesion to • Superior to polyesters

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glass fibre at room temperature
because of good adhesion to
• High styrene emissions & high variety of fibres, and moisture
shrinkage on cure and chemical resistance
• Expensive
Typical properties of unsaturated
polyesters Typical properties of epoxies
Strength 55-90 MPa
Strength 55-130 MPa
Stiffness 3.4-4.4 GPa
Stiffness 2.5-6.0 GPa
Strain to failure 1.6-4.5 %
Strain to failure 3.1-15 %
Density 1.1-1.5 g/cm3
Density 1.1-1.4 g/cm3
Matrices – thermosetting resins
• Vinyl ester resins • Phenolics
• Similar processing to • High fire resistance & excellent
polyesters thermal properties
• Low viscosity, fast curing • Cyanate esters
• Superb electrical properties & low
• Very high chemical and
moisture absorbance
environmental resistance • Expensive
• Better overall properties to • Mixed with other polymers (e.g.

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Lecture 2
polyesters epoxy) to reduce cost
• Higher cost • Bismalemides (BMI)
• Superior to epoxies for hot/wet use &
Typical properties of vinyl esters suitable for high operational temps
• Very Expensive
• Polyimides
• Higher operational temps. than BMI
(250-300° C)
• Extremely expensive
Matrices – thermoplastic
resins
• Thermoplastic resins
Offer
Engineering thermoplastics
• PA (Polyamide)
• Increased toughness • Self-lubricating & exhibit good
• Being ductile, higher strain to failure abrasion resistance
than thermosets means improved
impact resistance
• Good chemical resistance but high
water absorption
• Shorter fabrication time
• Improved hot/wet resistance
• PP (Polypropylene)

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• Do not absorb any significant amount
• Low density & low cost
of moisture but are subject to • High impact properties
chemical attack • PET (Polyester terephtalate)
• Indefinite shelf life at room • Comparable processing to PP
temperature • Higher service temperature &
• Can be reprocessed and recycled
stiffer than PP
Problem
• PEEK (Polyether ether ketone)
• High viscosity
• Highest performing engineering
• Operational temperature must be thermoplastic
below the Tg • High cost & cost of processing
• Subject to creep at high temperatures
Matrices – other
Metal matrices Ceramic matrices
• Used for high temperature applications but • Use of ceramic matrix is to
high density, high melting point and improve poor toughness
corrosion at fibre/matrix bond limit their characteristics of these matrices
usage
• Commonly used matrices are
• Aluminium
alumina, SiC, Si3N4, and AlN
• Most common reinforced metal

Composite Materials
• Commonly used fibres are SiC,

Lecture 2
because of corrosion resistance, low
density Si3N4, and AlN
• Mostly carbon fiber used
• Titanium
• Higher strength/weight ratio and
thermal stability than Al
• High reactivity with fibres

• Others
• Other metals, e.g. Cu, Be, Ag, used to
exploit their excellent thermal and
electrical properties and improve their
thermal expansion/ wear resistance
Constituent Materials
• Knowledge of the constituent material properties and
the origins of those properties is essential in design
• Allows understanding of the behaviour of a structure under
differing conditions
• Fibre properties are most important with respect to composite

Composite Materials Lecture 3

performance
• Wide variety of fibre types and properties to suit application
• Matrix properties determine maximum operating temperature
and interlaminar shear properties
• Fibre & Matrix contribute to the composite response in relation
to their volume fractions and the interaction between the fibres
and the matrix
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 Reinforcing fibres
• Fibres are key component of all
composites
• Provide high strength & stiffness to
the matrix material
• Modify dielectric constant (lower it)
• Impart high temperature resistance
and modify thermal expansion
coefficients
• Improve resistance to creep

The four main factors that govern the fibre's contribution are:
1. The basic mechanical properties of the fibre itself
2. The surface interaction (bond strength) of fibre and resin (the 'interface')
3. The amount of fibre in the composite (‘fibre volume fraction')
4. The form (long or short) and orientation (unidirectional, cross-ply or
random) of the fibres in the composite 48
 How do glass fibres get strong?
Brittle inorganic materials such as glass are amorphous and have no ability to
orientate their structure
But glass fibres can still exhibit considerable increases in strength relative to bulk
glass due to the elimination of defects

Typical glass fibres have a

Lecture 3
Composite Materials
modulus that is similar to Griffith’s theory
aluminium but specific
ultimate strengths that are 3-
6 times that of steel.
Fibre properties

• Specific properties
• Low density of fibres Property
Specific property =
compared to their Density
properties provides high
specific properties
• High specific properties are
essential in the
transportation industry
where lowering weight
results in significant fuel
savings

50
 Comparison of fibre properties
Material Type Tensile Strength Tensile Modulus Typical Density Specific
(MPa) (GPa) (g/cm3) Modulus
Carbon HS 3500 160 - 270 1.8 90 - 150
Carbon IM 3500 270 - 325 1.8 150 - 180
Carbon HM 3500 325 - 440 1.8 180 - 240
Carbon UHM 2000 440+ 2.0 200+
Aramid LM 3600 60 1.45 40
Aramid HM 3100 120 1.45 80
Aramid UHM 3400 180 1.47 120
Glass – E glass 2400 69 2.5 27
Glass – S2 glass 3450 86 2.5 34
Glass – quartz 3700 69 2.2 31
Aluminium Alloy (7020) 400 69 2.7 26
Titanium 950 110 4.5 24
Mild Steel (55 Grade) 450 205 7.8 26
Stainless Steel (A5-80) 800 196 7.8 25
HS Steel (17/4 H900) 1241 197 7.8 25

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Use of reinforcing fibres
• PMCs
• Increase strength and stiffness of matrix to either satisfy
design requirements or to replace an existing part with one
having the same mechanical properties but lower weight
• MMCs

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Composite Materials
• Sustain the ultimate-use temperature of the part by
preventing ductile failure while increasing the properties of
the alloy in use
• CMCs
• Significantly increase the maximum operating temperature,
increase part toughness and prevent premature brittle failure
Glass Fibres
• Manufacturers:
• Owens Corning
• PPG
• Saint Gobain Vetrotex

Glass fibres are some of the most versatile

materials known today
They are easily produced from abundant raw
materials
The fibres possess useful properties such as
strength, flexibility, hardness, transparency,
chemical inertness, high damping
Disadvantages are relatively low modulus,
relatively high density, sensitivity to abrasion
during handling, low fatigue resistance
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Compositions of commercial glass fibres
Main constituents:
• Silica SiO2 (50-60%): (glass making sand)
• Alumina Al2O3
• Oxides of Boron, Na, K, Ca and Mg
There are several types of glass fibres available. The most common type are

Lecture 3
Composite Materials
general-purpose products termed E-glass, i.e. electrical grade, historically
developed for PCBs , requiring low electrical conductivity.
• 90-95% of the commercial glass-fibre reinforcement is E-glass, with recent
regulations forcing the introduction of No Boron E-glass

• https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/physics-and-astronomy/e-glass

54
Summary of glass fibre production
1. Raw materials are 4. The strands pass over
brought separately a binder applicator
into the plant in 90- and are wrapped
ton railroad cars and around a cardboard
pneumatically or plastic tube on a
pumped into huge high-speed winder.
containers for storage.

2. The dry glass batch is 5. After conditioning,

Lecture 3
Composite Materials
reduced to molten glass strand packages are
in modern, energy- placed on twist
efficient furnaces at frames for
temperatures of 1540 °C. transferring the
strand to bobbins and
3. The molten glass processing it into
flows through yarns of varying types
platinum bushings as specified by
containing hundreds customers.
of tiny orifices to form
filaments (~10
microns) which are
elongated, cooled and
gathered together to
form strands (~204
filaments).
Application of Sizing
• A chemical treatment, referred to as “sizing” or “binder,” is
applied to the filaments during the winding process to coat
the filaments
 Prevents abrasion between filaments and during processing
 Binds the filaments into a strand

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Composite Materials
 Promotes adhesion between fibres and polymer matrix

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Process of glass fibre production

Lecture 3
Composite Materials
Glass fibre products
• Roving
• Rovings are formed by collecting a bundle of 20 glass strands to form a
single large strand which is wound into a cylindrical roll called a
multiend roving
• Roving are used in many applications:

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Composite Materials
• Spray lay-up
• Sheet Moulding Compound (SMC)
• Filament winding (single-ended roving)
• Pultrusion (single-ended roving)
• Weaving into a fabric form
• Mats: can be either chopped and bound with a binder to form chopped
strand mat, or in continuous form for use in closed mould processes such as
RTM.
 Glass fibre products
• Chopped strand products
• Chopped fibres are formed straight after fibre sizing before drying.
• Fibre lengths typically vary between 3.2 to 12.7mm
• Chopped fibres used in
• Injection moulding
• Bulk moulding compounds (BMC)
• Longer fibres (~50 mm) mixed with binder to

Lecture 3
Composite Materials
form chopped strand mat (CSM)
• Used in hand lay-up process with quasi-isotropic properties

• Milled fibres
• Produced by grinding fibres followed by sizing
for specific applications according to length
• Sizes vary depending on application, but typically
vary from 0.79 to 6.4mm
• Used as filler in plastics industry but have minimal
reinforcement value
Glass fibre products
• Fibreglass paper
• Fibers are chopped and packed while still wet (10-15%
moisture content)
• Fibre lengths are usually 12.5-50mm
• Wet-chopped fibers are used to make fibreglass paper, filters
and tissues or veils under a process similar to that of paper
making

Lecture 3
Composite Materials
• Woven forms
• Woven rovings: Fabric in which continuous rovings are woven in two
mutually perpendicular directions
• Used where rapid thickness build-up is required over large areas, e.g., fibreglass
boats, marine products, many types of tooling
• Woven cloth: Weaved using twisted continuous strands called yarns
• Both woven roving and cloth provide bi-directional properties that depend
on the style of weaving and fibre counts in the length (warp) and crosswise
(weft or fill) directions
Current worldwide market for Glass Fibre
• The global glass fiber market by Thermosetting composites: 70-75%
application was valued at US$9.26 billion in Thermoplastic composites: 25-30%
2014
• Projected to reach US$14.27 billion by
2019, at a CAGR of 9.0%
• China is currently the largest
manufacturer of glass fiber in the world,
constituting more than 50% share of the
global production

Glass reinforcement market by application

35

30 Construction & Public Works

25 Transportation

20 Electrical & electronics

Marine, recreational & consumer goods
15
Industrial & agricultural equipment
10
Others
5

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Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface
Composites
Composites areare heterogeneous
heterogeneous materials.
materials.
(i)
(i) Natural
Natural –– wood,
wood,
(ii)
(ii) Synthetic
Synthetic –– PMCs,
PMCs, MMCs,
MMCs, CMCs
CMCs etc.
etc.
The
The synthetic,
synthetic, man-made
man-made materials,
materials, possessing
possessing high
high strength
strength and/or
and/or stiffness
stiffness
relative
relative to
to weight
weight which
which are
are used
used in
in high
high performance
performance structural
structural applications.
applications.
Reinforcements
Natural:
Natural: Cotton,
Cotton, silk,
silk, wool,
wool, jute,
jute, hemp
hemp and
and sisal
sisal etc.
etc.
Synthetic:
Synthetic: Glass
Glass fibres,
fibres, aramid
aramid fibres,
fibres, carbon
carbon fibres
fibres etc.
etc.

Wood fibres Sisal fibres

Jute fibres
 Reinforcements
MMCs:
MMCs: SiC,
SiC, C,
C, Al
Al22O
O33,, B,
B, W,
W, SS
SS fibers
fibers and
and wires
wires
CMCs:
CMCs: SiC,
SiC, C,
C, Al
Al22O
O33,, B,
B, W,
W, glass,
glass, kevlar
kevlar
PMCs:
PMCs: C,
C, Al
Al22O
O33,, B,
B, W,
W, MgO,
MgO, glass,
glass, kevlar,
kevlar, aramid
aramid

Silicon carbide fibres

Alumina fibres Boron fibres

Kevlar fibres

Aramid fibres Glass fibers Carbon fibres

 Matrices
PMCs:
PMCs: Epoxy,
Epoxy, PE,
PE, PVC,
PVC, PEEK,
PEEK, polyester
polyester etc
etc
MMCs:
MMCs: Al,
Al, Ti,
Ti, Zn,
Zn, Mg,
Mg, Cu,
Cu, Ni,
Ni, Fe,
Fe, and
and other
other metals
metals and
and alloys
alloys
CMCs:
CMCs: C,
C, Al
Al22O
O33,, WC,
WC, SiC,
SiC, TiC,
TiC, TaC,
TaC, Si
Si44N
N33,, MgO,
MgO, SiO
SiO22,, borosilicate
borosilicate glass,
glass, lithium
lithium
aluminosilicate
aluminosilicate etcetc

Silicon carbide Tantalum carbide Titanium carbide

Epoxy Alumina
Polyethylene
 Reinforcing Phase
Fibers
• Continuous
Very strong

• Discontinuous
- L/D ~ 100 Carbon fibers

- Whiskers
- Hair like single crystals with diameters down to about 40 x 10-6 in.
- Very strong

SiC whiskers
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface
Comparison of properties

Mathews-Rawlings Chapter 2
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface
Nematic
Nematic liquid
liquid crystal
crystal
Alignment
Alignment parallel
parallel to
to their
their long
long axis
axis
Chain
Chain centres
centres randomly
randomly distributed
distributed

Aramids-as
Aramids-as nylon
nylon with
with extra
extra Alignment
Alignment is
is enhanced
enhanced during
during fiber
fiber
benzene
benzene rings
rings in
in the
the polymer
polymer production
production by
by spinning,
spinning, extrusion,
extrusion, and
and
chains
chains to
to increase
increase stiffness
stiffness subsequent
subsequent mechanical
mechanical treatment
treatment
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface
ProductionRoute
Production Route
Aramidsolution
Aramid solution++HHSO 2SO4held
heldatatlow
low
2 4
temperatureand
temperature andthen
thenextruded
extrudedatathigh
high
temperatureinto
temperature intoaacoagulation
coagulationbath
bathtoto
removeresidual
remove residualsolvent.
solvent.
Fiberstrength
Fiber strength   850
850MPaMPa
YMYM   55GPaGPa

ItItisisthen
thenstretched
stretchedand
andcold
colddrawn
drawntoto
increasestrength
increase strength

Kevlar
Kevlar4949Radial
Radialsymmetry
symmetry
Kevlar
Kevlar2929less
lessperfect
perfectand
andoriented
oriented
compared to kevlar 49
compared to kevlar 49
Can
Canbebechanged
changedtotokevlar
kevlar49
49through
through
heat treatment.
heat treatment.
Glass transition ~ 360oC.
Burn with difficulty, do not melt.
Service temperature < 300oC.
Low CTE, Low electrical and thermal Pleated
Pleated planar
planar sheets
sheets
conductivity, and high thermal capacity.
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface
Chopped strand
mat, rovings,
ribbons twisted
to form yarn or
woven rovings

Hollow glass fibers

Glass
Glass has
has aa short
short range
range network
network structure,
structure,
Ternary
Ternary system
system CaO-Al
CaO-Al22OO33-SiO
-SiO22 with
with some
some BB22O
O33 for
for SiO
SiO22 and
and some
some MgO
MgO for
for CaO.
CaO. (B
(B22O
O33
lowers the liquidus temperature thus increasing the working
lowers the liquidus temperature thus increasing the working range.) range.)

Glass
Glass fibers
fibers degrade
degrade in
in acid
acid or
or alkali environment 
alkali environment  AR
AR glass
glass
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface

Glass is a common reinforcement

1. Easily drawn into fibers
2. Cheap and readily available
3. Easy to process into composites
4. High specific strength
composites
5. Usually chemically inert
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface

Used with a refractory binder in

the form of mats, boards and
tiles for thermal insulation at
high temperatures

Different crystal structures of alumina (α, β, γ, δ, η)

Alumina
Alumina fibres
fibres polycrystalline
polycrystalline and
and not
not 100%
100% pure,
pure,
contains
contains other
other oxides
oxides
Alumina + few% silica (Debased alumina)
Al2O3 + YSZ  ZTA

Al
Al22O
O33 mainly
mainly used
used for
for the
the reinforcement
reinforcement of
of metals.
metals.
δδ fibers
fibers are
are employed
employed for
for high
high strength
strength application and α
application and α
fibers
fibers where
where hardness
hardness is
is important
important e.g.,
e.g., wear
wear resistance
resistance
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface
Melt
Melt spinning
spinning not
not suitable
suitable due
due to
to low
low viscosity
viscosity and
and high
high melting
melting point.
point.

Methods
Slurry
Slurry method
method
A stable aqueous slurry is formed (additions to stabilize the suspension and modify the
viscosity)
The slurry is then extruded into green fibers and fired (to drive off the additives and to
sinter)

Room temperature mechanical properties of the fibers produced by this method are good but the
fibers are susceptible to grain growth and creep at elevated temperatures.

Solution or sol-gel
sol-gel processing
processing
Highly concentrated solution of an aluminum compound is used for spinning.
Continuous fibers  Extrusion through 100 – 200 μm holes of high viscosity solution.
Discontinuous fibers  Gas attenuation of low viscosity solution (< 2 Ns-m2)

After spinning the fibers are dried and heattreated (volatiles driven off and crystallization
takes place)

The final crystal and microstructure of the fiber depends on the composition, atmosphere,
and the time and temperature of heattreatment.
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface
Payout spool for W wire

BCl3 + H2
Produced
Producedin insingle-filament
single-filament
Boron on reactors
reactorsbybyChemical
ChemicalVapor
Vapor
tungsten Deposition
Deposition(CVD),
(CVD),boron
boronfiber
fiber
boride
substrate exhibits
exhibitsaaunique
uniquecombination
combination
ofofHigh
HighStrength,
Strength,High
HighModulus
Modulus
Exhaust
gases and Large Diameter.
and Large Diameter.
Mercury
electrode Takeup spool for
boron fibres

2BCl
2BCl33(g)
(g) ++ H
H22(g)
(g) == 2B(s)
2B(s) ++ 6HCl(g)
6HCl(g)

Strong
Strong in
in tension
tension and
and compression
compression but
but heavy
heavy due
due to
to W
W

W wire of 10 um diameter and lengths upto 3000m to give an approx. 50 um thick

coating of B with a grain size of 2-3 nm.

Annealing to reduce residual stresses and surface treatment to remove surface flaws
and enhance strength
C replacing W was unsuccessful due to difference in thermal expansion
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface
Carbon
Applications
Applications

•• Batteries
Batteries
•• Carbon
Carbon blacks
blacks
•• Sports
Sports equipment
equipment
•• Carbon
Carbon fibers
fibers
Bucky •• Steel
Steel and
and aluminum
aluminum industry
industry
Bucky balls
balls •• Carbon
Carbon composites
composites
•• Nuclear
Nuclear power
power plants
plants
•• Carbon
Carbon electrodes
electrodes
•• Purification
Purification
•• Carbon
Carbon films
films
•• Aircraft
Aircraft brakes,
brakes, ballistic
ballistic missiles,
missiles,
•• Carbon
Carbon foams
foams aerospace
aerospace vehicles,
vehicles, turbine
turbine and
and
•• Metallurgical
Metallurgical coke
coke rocket
rocket components
components
Diamond
Diamond
•• Pencils
Pencils
•• Printing
Printing inks
inks

Graphite
Graphite
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface
Carbon Fibers
•• Graphite
Graphite structure
structure –– More
More expensive
expensive
•• High
High strength,
strength, high
high stiffness,
stiffness, and
and low
low density
density
•• Made
Made by
by pyrolysis
pyrolysis of
of organic
organic precursors
precursors (usually
(usually PAN
PAN or
or pitch)
pitch)

Two
Two kinds
kinds of
of fibers
fibers
•• Carbon
Carbon (80
(80 –– 95% carbon) 
95% carbon)  Lower
Lower modulus
modulus and
and strength.
strength.
•• Graphite
Graphite (>
(> 99% carbon) 
99% carbon)  Crystalline
Crystalline with
with very
very high
high modulus
modulus and
and strength.
strength.

Hollow
Hollow carbon
carbon fibers
fibers –– Coiled
Coiled carbon
carbon fibers
fibers –– good
good
Carbon
Carbon fibers
fibers Woven
Woven fibers
fibers better
better toughness
toughness elasticity
elasticity
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface
Carbon fibers 
Carbon fibers  Graphite
Graphite is
is the
the most
most suitable
suitable consisting
consisting of
of hexagonal
hexagonal layers
layers with
with
strong
strong covalent
covalent bonding
bonding (Basal
(Basal plane
plane stacking
stacking sequence
sequence -- ABAB)
ABAB)
Interlayers
Interlayers are
are bonded
bonded by
by weak
weak Van
Van der
der Waals
Waals forces
forces

Elastic
Elastic modulus
modulus in
in the
the basal
basal plane
plane is
is ~~ 1000
1000 GPa
GPa as
as compared
compared to
to 35
35 GPa
GPa in
in the
the c-
c-
axis.
axis.

Alignment
Alignment of
of basal
basal plane
plane parallel
parallel to
to fiber
fiber axis
axis give
give stiff
stiff fibers
fibers with
with low
low density
density (2
(2
Mg/m
Mg/m )) thus
33
thus producing
producing high
high specific
specific stiffness
stiffness

Graphite
Graphite sublimes
sublimes at
at 3700
3700ooCC but
but gets
gets oxidized
oxidized at
at 500
500ooCC in
in air.
air.
Carbon
Carbon fibers
fibers can
can be
be used
used upto
upto 2500
2500ooCC with
with protection
protection from
from oxygen
oxygen

Controlled
Controlled heating
heating of
of cellulose
cellulose fibers
fibers converts
converts them
them to
to graphite
graphite fibers
fibers

Pyrolysis 
Pyrolysis  organic
organic precursors
precursors change
change into
into carbon
carbon followed
followed by carbonization 
by carbonization 
gradual
gradual ordering
ordering of
of structure
structure and
and finally
finally graphitization
graphitization at
at high
high temperature
temperature
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface

Aircraft
Aircraft and
and space
space
applications
applications
Sports:
Sports: Golf
Golf club,
club, racket
racket
frames,
frames, fishing
fishing rods
rods
Drive
Drive shafts,
shafts, static
static
dissipating
dissipating trays
trays for
for
semiconductor
semiconductor processing.
processing.
Carbon
Carbon composite
composite pipes
pipes in
in
oil fields.
oil fields.
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface
CVD
CVD process
process
Two
Two production
production methods
methods
CH
CH33SiCl (g) 
SiCl33 (g)  SiC
SiC (s)
(s) ++ 3HCl
3HCl (g)
(g)
-- Deposition
Deposition on
on aa substrate
substrate
Substrate
Substrate is
is generally W
generally W W
W22CC and
and W
W55Si
Si33
-- Decomposition
Decomposition of
of aa precursor
precursor (at
(at 1000
1000ooC).
C).
SiC
SiC oriented
oriented along
along (111)
(111) planes
planes parallel
parallel to
to
fiber
fiber axis
axis
Similar
Similar to
to carbon
carbon fiber
fiber production
production Also
Also called
called monofilaments
monofilaments (100
(100 –– 150
150 um
um
diameter)
diameter)
Methyl-poly-disilya-zane
Methyl-poly-disilya-zane (MPZ)
(MPZ)
SiC
SiC Fibers
Fibers
Hydrido-poly-silialazane
Hydrido-poly-silialazane (HPZ)
(HPZ)
Monofilaments 
Monofilaments  CVD
CVD (10
(10 -25
-25 µm
µm dia.
dia.
Amorphous
Amorphous fibers
fibers –– Si,
Si, C,
C, N
N and
and O
O Carbon
Carbon monofilament
monofilament substrate)
substrate)
Most
Most common
common areare SiC
SiC fibers
fibers (covalent
(covalent Multifilament
Multifilament yarn
yarn –– melt
melt spinning
spinning
bonding) 
bonding)  brittle
brittle fibers
fibers with
with high
high
modulus
modulus Polymeric
Polymeric precursor
precursor –– polycarbosilane
polycarbosilane
at
at 350
350ooCC in
in NN
The
The specific
specific properties
properties are
are not
not so
so
impressive Whiskers
Whiskers –– rice
rice husks
husks 20%
20% SiO
SiO22 (0.1
(0.1 –– 11
impressive due
due to
to high
high density
density except
except
µm,
µm, 50
50 µm
µm length)
length)
whiskers
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface
Polydimethylsilane
Polydimethylsilane Small
Small crystals
crystals (~2 nm) of
(~2 nm) of β-SiC
β-SiC

Thermal
Thermal decomposition
decomposition (~10
(~10 MPa
MPa in
in an
an autoclave)
autoclave) The
The fiber
fiber is
is not
not pure
pure SiC
SiC
(Some
(Some oxygen
oxygen remains
remains from
from the
the low
low
temperature
temperature heattreatment.
heattreatment. Oxygen
Oxygen
Vacuum
Vacuum distillation
distillation treatment
treatment (polymer
(polymer carbosilane
carbosilane MW
MW ~~ may
may combine
combine with
with Si
Si to
to give
give SiO
SiO22))
1500)
1500)

Melt
Melt spinning
spinning and
and oxidation
oxidation (200
(200ooC,
C, to
to induce
induce cross-linking)
cross-linking)
Grain
Grain growth
growth and
and changes
changes in
in
composition
composition occurs
occurs by
by
Slow
Slow raise
raise in
in temperature
temperature to
to 1300
1300ooCC to
to form
form SiC.
SiC. prolonged
prolonged heating
heating at
at higher
higher
temperatures.
temperatures.

By
By using
using aa Ti
Ti containing
containing precursor
precursor amorphous
amorphous fibers
fibers can
can be
be formed
formed

Crystallization
Crystallization starts
starts by
by heating
heating to
to high
high temperature
temperature (above
(above 1000
1000ooC)
C)
12
12 μm and 8μm diameter fibers are produced
 Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface

SiC
SiC particles
particles

SiC
SiC platelets
platelets

Platelets
Platelets having
having higher
higher aspect
aspect ration
ration compared
compared to
to blocky
blocky
particles.
particles. Can
Can produce
produce anan anisotropic
anisotropic composite
composite
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface
Interface

Adhesion
Adhesion between the fiber and the matrix is
controlled by the
the properties
properties of
of the
the interface
interface

Good
Good Adhesion
Adhesion Poor
Poor Adhesion
Adhesion

•• Provides
Provides efficient transfer of load • Provides higher fracture
fracture
between toughness for cracks normal to
between fibers
fibers and
and matrix
matrix
the reinforcement.
reinforcement.
•• Controls
Controls properties
properties of composite in • Promotes ductility of matrix
aa direction
direction transverse
transverse to
to fibers
fibers
•• Reduces
Reduces susceptibility to
to
environmental
environmental degradation.
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface

• Interface is where phases are in contact

• It is very important for determining properties
• May use interphase to connect the two
two main
main phases
phases
•• Addition
Addition of
of aa third
third ingredient
ingredient
•• Solution
Solution of
of two
two phases
phases

(a) (b)

(c)
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface

Important Aspects

• Load transfer from matrix to the reinforcement through the

interface and for better fracture strength
• Strong bond is essential  for high stiffness but low
resistance to fracture
• Interface and influence on creep, fatigue and environmental
degradation
• Interface - critical for both fibers and particulates
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface
Wettability
Critical to adhesion between matrix and
and reinforcements
reinforcements
Extent to which a liquid spreads over a surface
Good wettability means that the liquid will flow over the reinforcements
covering every
every bump
bump and
and filling
filling every
every trough
trough while
while displacing
displacing air.
air.
- Wetting occurs if the viscosity of the matrix is not too high.
- Wetting causes a decrease in the free energy of the system
γγSL
SL
+ γLG
LG
< γSG
SG
So
So spreading
spreading coefficient
coefficient is
is
SC
SC == γSG – (γ SL ++ γγSL
SG – (γSL SL)
)
SC
SC >> 00 complete
complete wetting
wetting
SC
SC << 00 partial
partial wetting
wetting

For spreading the liquid must be energetically favouarable

γγSL dA + γSL dA < γSLdA
SLdA + γSL dA < γSLdA
γγ Free
Free energy
energy per
per unit
unit area
area and
and dAdA is
is increment
increment in
in area
area covered
covered by
by spreading
spreading film
film
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface
• Wettability
• Low surface tension γ (acetone / alcohol
23)
• High surface energy E Wetting
• Strong liquid / solid interaction
• Filling of pores / roughness Steel: E = 230 mJ / m22
• Low surface tension of the liquid PTFE: E = 18 mJ / m22
• Rapid flow
• Low viscosity
• For adhesiveness
• Favorable liquid / solid interactions
• Low viscosity
• Chemical reaction for setting
Reinforcements and the reinforcement – matrix interface
Interfacial Bonding  More
Interfacial More than
than one
one mechanism
mechanism
•• Mechanical
Mechanical bonding
bonding –– Mechanical
Mechanical interlocking
interlocking of
of rough
rough surface
surface of
of matrix
matrix and
and
reinforcement.
reinforcement. This
This is
is effective
effective in
in case
case where
where force
force is
is applied
applied parallel
parallel to
to the
the interface
interface (in
(in
shear
shear mode)
mode)
•• Electrostatic
Electrostatic bonding
bonding –– ItIt occurs
occurs when
when oneone surface
surface is
is positively
positively charged
charged and
and other
other
negatively
negatively charged
charged causing
causing electrostatic
electrostatic force
force between
between the the constituents
constituents (matrix
(matrix and
and
reinforcements).
reinforcements). But
But itit is
is short
short range
range and
and occurs
occurs at
at atomic
atomic level.
level. Good
Good in
in case
case of
of
intimate
intimate contact,
contact, less
less contamination
contamination andand decreased
decreased gas
gas entrapment.
entrapment.

•• Chemical
Chemical bonding
bonding –– Bond
Bond between
between chemical
chemical groups
groups on
on the
the surface
surface of
of the
the
reinforcement.
reinforcement. e.g.,
e.g., silanes
silanes employed
employed for
for coupling
coupling the
the oxide
oxide groups
groups on
on aa glass
glass surface
surface to
to
the
the molecules
molecules of
of aa polymer
polymer matrix
matrix

•• Reaction
Reaction oror interdiffusion
interdiffusion bonding
bonding –– Reaction
Reaction layerlayer of
of interdiffusion
interdiffusion of
of atoms
atoms or
or
molecules
molecules of of the
the constituents
constituents of
of composite.
composite. e.g.,e.g., intertwinning
intertwinning of
of polymer
polymer molecules.
molecules.
Factors
Factors such
such as
as distance
distance between
between entwinned
entwinned molecules
molecules and
and extent
extent of
of entanglement
entanglement in
in
polymers
polymers andand no.
no. of
of molecules
molecules per
per unit
unit area
area of of interface.
interface. In
In MMCs
MMCs
brittle
brittle reactions
reactions may
may occurs
occurs –– CuAl
CuAl22 and
and Al
Al44CC33..