INTRODUCTIOM TO

COMPOSITE MATERIALS

MSE 332
 Overview

• Introduction
• What are the classes and types of composites?
• What are the advantages of using composite
materials?
• How do we predict the stiffness and strength of the
various types of composites?

• Applications of various types of composites

• Fiber production techniques for glass, carbon and ceramic fibers
 Introduction
 Composites exist in nature. A piece of wood is a composite, with long cellulose
fibres held together by a substance called lignin.
 Composite materials are formed by combining two or more materials that have
quite different properties, and they do not dissolve or blend into each other.
 The different materials in the composite work together to give the composite
unique properties.
 Humans have been using composite materials for thousands of years in different
areas.
 The first uses of composites date back to the 1500 BC, when early Egyptians and
Mesopotamian settlers used a mixture of mud and straw to create strong and
durable buildings.
 Composite
• Combination of two or more individual
materials

• Design goal: obtain a more desirable

combination of properties (principle of
combined action)
– e.g., low density and high strength

Chapter 16 - 4
 Terminology/Classification
• Composite:
-- Multiphase material that is artificially
made.

• Phase types:
-- Matrix - is continuous
-- Dispersed - is discontinuous and
surrounded by matrix

Adapted from Fig. 16.1(a),

Callister & Rethwisch 8e.

Chapter 16 - 5
 Terminology/Classification
• Matrix phase: woven
-- Purposes are to: fibers
- transfer stress to dispersed phase
- protect dispersed phase from
environment
-- Types: MMC, CMC, PMC 0.5 mm
cross
metal ceramic polymer section
view
• Dispersed phase:
-- Purpose:
MMC: increase y, TS, creep resist. 0.5 mm
CMC: increase KIc Reprinted with permission from
D. Hull and T.W. Clyne, An
PMC: increase E, y, TS, creep resist. Introduction to Composite Materials,
2nd ed., Cambridge University Press,
New York, 1996, Fig. 3.6, p. 47.
-- Types: particle, fiber, structural
Chapter 16 - 6
Classification of Composites

Adapted from Fig. 16.2,

Callister & Rethwisch 8e.

Chapter 16 - 7
 Classification: Particle-Reinforced (i)
Particle-reinforced Fiber-reinforced Structural
• Examples:
- Spheroidite matrix: particles: Adapted from Fig.
ferrite () cementite 10.19, Callister &
steel Rethwisch 8e. (Fig.
(ductile) (Fe C) 10.19 is copyright
3 United States Steel
(brittle) Corporation, 1971.)
60 m
Adapted from Fig.
- WC/Co matrix: particles: 16.4, Callister &
cemented cobalt WC Rethwisch 8e. (Fig.
16.4 is courtesy
(ductile, (brittle,
carbide tough)
: hard)
Carboloy Systems,
Department, General
Electric Company.)
600 m
Adapted from Fig.
16.5, Callister &
- Automobile matrix: particles: Rethwisch 8e. (Fig.
tire rubber rubber carbon 16.5 is courtesy
(compliant) black
Goodyear Tire and
Rubber Company.)
(stiff)
0.75 m Chapter 16 - 8
 Classification: Particle-Reinforced (ii)
Particle-reinforced Fiber-reinforced Structural

Concrete – gravel + sand + cement + water

- Why sand and gravel? Sand fills voids between gravel particles
Reinforced concrete – Reinforce with steel rebar or remesh
- increases strength - even if cement matrix is cracked

Prestressed concrete
- Rebar/remesh placed under tension during setting of concrete
- Release of tension after setting places concrete in a state of compression
- To fracture concrete, applied tensile stress must exceed this
compressive stress

Posttensioning – tighten nuts to place concrete under compression

threaded
rod
nut
Chapter 16 - 9
 Classification: Particle-Reinforced (iii)
Particle-reinforced Fiber-reinforced Structural
• Elastic modulus, Ec, of composites:
-- two “rule of mixture” extremes:
upper limit: Ec = Vm Em + Vp Ep
E(GPa)
Data: 350
lower limit: Adapted from Fig. 16.3,
Cu matrix 30 0 Callister & Rethwisch 8e.
w/tungsten 250 1 Vm Vp (Fig. 16.3 is from R.H.
= + Krock, ASTM Proc, Vol.
particles 20 0 Ec Em Ep 63, 1963.)

150

0 20 40 60 80 10 0 vol% tungsten
(Cu) (W)

• Application to other properties:

-- Electrical conductivity, e: Replace E’s in equations with e’s.
-- Thermal conductivity, k: Replace E’s in equations with k’s.
Chapter 16 -10
 Classification: Fiber-Reinforced (i)
Particle-reinforced Fiber-reinforced Structural
• Fibers very strong in tension
– Provide significant strength improvement to the
composite
– Ex: fiber-glass - continuous glass filaments in a
polymer matrix
• Glass fibers
– strength and stiffness
• Polymer matrix
– holds fibers in place
– protects fiber surfaces
– transfers load to fibers

Chapter 16 -11
 Classification: Fiber-Reinforced (ii)
Particle-reinforced Fiber-reinforced Structural
• Fiber Types
– Whiskers - thin single crystals - large length to diameter ratios
• graphite, silicon nitride, silicon carbide
• high crystal perfection – extremely strong, strongest known
• very expensive and difficult to disperse
– Fibers
• polycrystalline or amorphous
• generally polymers or ceramics
• Ex: alumina, aramid, E-glass, boron, UHMWPE
– Wires
• metals – steel, molybdenum, tungsten

Chapter 16 -12
 Longitudinal
direction
Fiber Alignment
Adapted from Fig. 16.8,
Callister & Rethwisch 8e.

Transverse
direction

aligned aligned random

continuous discontinuous
Chapter 16 -13
 Classification: Fiber-Reinforced (iii)
Particle-reinforced Fiber-reinforced Structural
• Aligned Continuous fibers
• Examples:
-- Metal: '(Ni3Al)-(Mo) -- Ceramic: Glass w/SiC fibers
by eutectic solidification. formed by glass slurry
matrix: (Mo) (ductile) Eglass = 76 GPa; ESiC = 400 GPa.

(a) fracture
surface

From F.L. Matthews and R.L.

2 m Rawlings, Composite Materials;
Engineering and Science, Reprint
fibers:  ’ (Ni3Al) (brittle) (b)
ed., CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL,
2000. (a) Fig. 4.22, p. 145 (photo by
J. Davies); (b) Fig. 11.20, p. 349
From W. Funk and E. Blank, “Creep
(micrograph by H.S. Kim, P.S.
deformation of Ni3Al-Mo in-situ composites",
Rodgers, and R.D. Rawlings). Used
Metall. Trans. A Vol. 19(4), pp. 987-998, with permission of CRC
1988. Used with permission. Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Chapter 16 -14
 Classification: Fiber-Reinforced (iv)
Particle-reinforced Fiber-reinforced Structural
• Discontinuous fibers, random in 2 dimensions
• Example: Carbon-Carbon C fibers:
-- fabrication process: very stiff
- carbon fibers embedded very strong
in polymer resin matrix, (b)
C matrix:
500 m
- polymer resin pyrolyzed less stiff
at up to 2500ºC. view onto plane less strong
-- uses: disk brakes, gas
fibers lie
turbine exhaust flaps,
(a) in plane
missile nose cones.
• Other possibilities:
-- Discontinuous, random 3D Adapted from F.L. Matthews and R.L. Rawlings,
Composite Materials; Engineering and Science,
-- Discontinuous, aligned Reprint ed., CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2000.
(a) Fig. 4.24(a), p. 151; (b) Fig. 4.24(b) p. 151.
(Courtesy I.J. Davies) Reproduced with
permission of CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

Chapter 16 -15
 Classification: Fiber-Reinforced (v)
Particle-reinforced Fiber-reinforced Structural
• Critical fiber length for effective stiffening & strengthening:
fiber ultimate tensile strength fiber diameter
f d
fiber length  shear strength of
2c fiber-matrix interface
• Ex: For fiberglass, common fiber length > 15 mm needed
• For longer fibers, stress transference from matrix is more efficient
Short, thick fibers: Long, thin fibers:
d d
fiber length  f fiber length  f
2c 2c

Low fiber efficiency High fiber efficiency

Chapter 16 -16
 Composite Stiffness:
Longitudinal Loading
Continuous fibers - Estimate fiber-reinforced composite
modulus of elasticity for continuous fibers
• Longitudinal deformation
c = mVm + fVf and c = m = f

volume fraction isostrain

 Ecl = EmVm + Ef Vf Ecl = longitudinal modulus

c = composite
f = fiber
m = matrix
Chapter 16 -17
 Composite Stiffness:
Transverse Loading
• In transverse loading the fibers carry less of the load

c= mVm + fVf and c = m = f = 

isostress
1 Vm Vf
  
Ect E m Ef

Ect = transverse modulus
EmEf
Ect 
VmEf  Vf Em

c = composite
f = fiber
 m = matrix
Chapter 16 -18
 Composite Stiffness
Particle-reinforced Fiber-reinforced Structural

• Estimate of Ecd for discontinuous fibers:

f d
-- valid when fiber length < 15
c
-- Elastic modulus in fiber direction:
Ecd = EmVm + KEfVf

efficiency factor:
Values from Table 16.3, Callister &
-- aligned: K = 1 (aligned parallel) Rethwisch 8e. (Source for Table
-- aligned: K = 0 (aligned perpendicular) 16.3 is H. Krenchel, Fibre
Reinforcement, Copenhagen:
-- random 2D: K = 3/8 (2D isotropy) Akademisk Forlag, 1964.)
-- random 3D: K = 1/5 (3D isotropy)

Chapter 16 -19
 Composite Strength
Particle-reinforced Fiber-reinforced Structural

• Estimate of  cd* for discontinuous fibers:

1. When l > lc
 
* * l
 cd    f Vf 1  m (1Vf )
c

  2 l 
2. When l < lc

 l c
 cd  
*
Vf  m (1Vf )
d


Chapter 16 -20
 Composite Production Methods (i)
Pultrusion
• Continuous fibers pulled through resin tank to impregnate fibers with
thermosetting resin
• Impregnated fibers pass through steel die that preforms to the desired shape
• Preformed stock passes through a curing die that is
– precision machined to impart final shape
– heated to initiate curing of the resin matrix

Fig. 16.13, Callister & Rethwisch 8e.

Chapter 16 -
 Composite Production Methods (ii)
• Filament Winding
– Continuous reinforcing fibers are accurately positioned in a predetermined
pattern to form a hollow (usually cylindrical) shape
– Fibers are fed through a resin bath to impregnate with thermosetting resin
– Impregnated fibers are continuously wound (typically automatically) onto a
mandrel
– After appropriate number of layers added, curing is carried out either in an
oven or at room temperature
– The mandrel is removed to give the final product
Adapted from Fig. 16.15, Callister & Rethwisch 8e.
[Fig. 16.15 is from N. L. Hancox, (Editor), Fibre
Composite Hybrid Materials, The Macmillan
Company, New York, 1981.]

Chapter 16 -
 Classification: Structural
Particle-reinforced Fiber-reinforced Structural
• Laminates -
-- stacked and bonded fiber-reinforced sheets
- stacking sequence: e.g., 0º/90º Adapted from
- benefit: balanced in-plane stiffness Fig. 16.16,
Callister &
Rethwisch 8e.

• Sandwich panels
-- honeycomb core between two facing sheets
- benefits: low density, large bending stiffness
face sheet
adhesive layer
honeycomb

Adapted from Fig. 16.18,

Callister & Rethwisch 8e.
(Fig. 16.18 is from Engineered Materials
Handbook, Vol. 1, Composites, ASM International, Materials Park, OH, 1987.)
Chapter 16 -23
 Composite Benefits
• CMCs: Increased toughness • PMCs: Increased E/
Force particle-reinf ceramics
10 3
E(GPa) 2 PMCs
10
10
fiber-reinf metal/
1 metal alloys
un-reinf
0.1 polymers
0.01
Bend displacement 0.1 0.3 1 3 10 30
10 -4 Density,  [mg/m3]
6061 Al
ss (s-1)
• MMCs: 10 -6
Adapted from T.G. Nieh, "Creep rupture of
Increased a silicon-carbide reinforced aluminum
composite", Metall. Trans. A Vol. 15(1), pp.
creep 10 -8 6061 Al 139-146, 1984. Used with permission.

resistance w/SiC
whiskers
10 -10
(MPa)
20 30 50 100 200 Chapter 16 -24
 Summary
• Composites types are designated by:
-- the matrix material (CMC, MMC, PMC)
-- the reinforcement (particles, fibers, structural)
• Composite property benefits:
-- MMC: enhanced E, , creep performance
-- CMC: enhanced KIc
-- PMC: enhanced E/, y, TS/
• Particulate-reinforced:
-- Types: large-particle and dispersion-strengthened
-- Properties are isotropic
• Fiber-reinforced:
-- Types: continuous (aligned)
discontinuous (aligned or random)
-- Properties can be isotropic or anisotropic
• Structural:
-- Laminates and sandwich panels
Chapter 16 -25
 Composites
Composites are combinations of two phase materials in which one of the
material is called the reinforcing phase, is in the form of fibers, sheets, or
particles, and is embedded in the other material called the matrix phase.
Typically, reinforcing materials are strong with low densities while the matrix is
usually a ductile or tough material.
If the composite is designed and fabricated correctly, it combines the strength of
the reinforcement with the toughness of the matrix to achieve a combination of
desirable properties not available in any single conventional material.

Components of composite materials

Reinforcement: fibers Matrix materials Interface

Glass Polymers Bonding
Carbon Metals surface
Organic Ceramics
Boron
Ceramic
Materials Engineering Dept. 26

Metallic
 Modern examples
The first modern composite material was fiber-glass.The matrix
is a plastic and the reinforcement is glass that has been made
into fine threads and often woven into a sort of cloth.

On its own the glass is very strong but brittle and it will break if
bent sharply. The plastic matrix holds the glass fibers together and
also protects them from damage by sharing out the forces acting on
them.
It is still widely used today for boat hulls, sports equipment,
building panels and many car bodies
Materials Engineering Dept. 27
The essence of the concept of composites is that the load is applied
over a large surface area of the matrix.
Matrix then transfers the load to the reinforcement, which being stiffer,
increases the strength of the composite.

Example In the United States, composites manufacturing

It is about 25 billion dollar a year industry.
about 6000 composites related manufacturing plants and materials
distributors across the U.S.
The industry employs more than 235,000 people. An additional
250,000 people are employed in businesses that support the
composites industry, including materials suppliers, equipment
vendors, and other support personnel.

About 90% of all composites produced are comprised of glass fiber

and either polyester or vinylester resin.
Materials Engineering Dept. 28
 Composites

Fibers

Matrix materials

Materials Engineering Dept. 29

Materials Engineering Dept. 30
•Particle-Reinforced Composites
based on the reinforcement or strengthening mechanism it classifies
large-particle and dispersion-strengthened composites
The term large is used to indicate that particle–matrix interactions
cannot be treated on the atomic or molecular level; rather, continuum
mechanics is used.
•matrix transfers some of the applied stress to the particles, which bear
a fraction of the load.
•matrix bears the major portion of an applied load,
•The degree of reinforcement or improvement of mechanical behavior
depends on strong bonding at the matrix–particle interface.

Materials Engineering Dept. 31

LARGE-PARTICLE COMPOSITES
Are some of fillers of the polymeric materials Also,
concrete, which is composed of cement (the matrix) and sand and
gravel (the particulates)
For effective reinforcement, the particles should be small and evenly
distributed throughout the matrix
•the volume fraction of the two phases influences the mechanical
behavior;
•Two mathematical expressions have been formulated for the
dependence of the elastic modulus on the volume fraction of the
constituent phases for a two-phase composite
These rule-of-mixtures equations predict the elastic modulus
•upper bound represented by
•lower bound,
Materials Engineering Dept. 32
E elastic modulus and
V denote the and volume fraction,
and the subscripts
c, composite
m, matrix and
P particulate phases represent

Materials Engineering Dept. 33

• Cermet is one examples of ceramic–metal composites.
Upper and lower bounds are
• Large-particle composites are used with all three material types (metals,
according to Equations 16.1 and
polymers, and ceramics).
16.2, respectively
• The most common cermet is cemented carbide, which is composed of
extremely hard particles of a refractory carbide ceramic such as tungsten
carbide (WC) or titanium carbide (TiC) embedded in a matrix of a metal
such as cobalt or nickel.
• These composites are used extensively as cutting tools for hardened
steels.
• The hard carbide particles provide the cutting surface but, being
extremely brittle, are not capable of withstanding the cutting stresses.
• Toughness is enhanced by their inclusion in the ductile metal matrix,
which isolates the carbide particles from one another and prevents
particle-to-particle
Materials Engineering Dept.
crack propagation. 34

• Both matrix and particulate phases are quite refractory to the high
temperature
• Carbon black Electron micrograph showing the spherical
reinforcing carbon black particles in a
Uses as reinforcing particulate
synthetic for tire
rubber many modern
tread rubbersThe
compound.
consists of very small
areasand
resembling water
essentially marksparticles
spherical are tiny air
of carbon,
pockets in the
produced by the combustion rubber.gas
of natural 80,000X
or oil in an atmosphere
that has only a limited air supply.
When added to vulcanized rubber, this extremely inexpensive
material enhances tensile strength, toughness, and tear and
abrasion resistance.
Automobile tires contain on the order of 15 to 30 vol%
For the carbon black to provide significant reinforcement, the
particle size must be extremely small, with diameters between 20
and 50 nm; also,
Particle reinforcement using other materials (e.g., silica) is much
Materials Engineering Dept. 35
less effective because this special interaction between the rubber
molecules and particle surfaces does not exist.
• Concrete
• is a common large-particle composite in which both matrix
and dispersed phases are ceramic materials
• implies an aggregate of particles that are bound together in a
solid body by some type of binding medium, that is, a cement.
• The two most familiar concretes are those made with Portland
and asphaltic cements, in which the aggregate is gravel and
sand.
• Asphaltic concrete is widely used primarily as a paving
material,
• whereas Portland cement concrete is employed extensively as
a structural building material.
• Homework what types of cements are producing in Ethiopia?
Materials Engineering Dept. 36
 Reinforced concrete

• Portland cement by adding of • Reinforcement

• Portland cement concrete may • Steel, wires ,rebar's
also be reinforced by mixing
fibers of a high-modulus • Steel serves as suitable
material such as glass, steel, reinforcement material because
nylon, or polyethylene into the steel
fresh concrete • is not rapidly corroded in the
• We must be look seriously cement environment, and
because fiber materials • a relatively strong adhesive bond
experience rapid deterioration is formed between it and the cured
when exposed to the cement concrete
environment.

 prestressed concrete
 posttensionin
Materials Engineering Dept. 37
• Fiber-Reinforced Composites
• The design goals of this fiber including high strength and stiffness on
a weight basis.
• Those Characteristics expressed in terms of specific strength and
specific modulus parameters,
• which correspond, respectively, to the ratios of tensile strength to
specific gravity and modulus of elasticity to specific gravity.
• Fiber-reinforced composites with exceptionally high specific
strengths and moduli have been produced that use low-density fiber
and matrix materials.
• Mechanical characteristics of a fiber-reinforced composite depend on
 The properties of the fiber,
 Degree of an applied load transmitted to the fibers by the matrix
phase and magnitude of the interfacial bond between fiber and matrix
Materials Engineering Dept. Tesfay G 38
• Quality of the Fiber-Reinforced Composites affected/influenced by
I. FIBER LENGTH
II.FIBER ORIENTATION AND CONCENTRATION
• two extremes are possible:
• (1) a parallel alignment of the longitudinal axis of the fibers in a single
direction, and
• (2) a totally random alignment.
• Mechanical response of composite affects by several factors
 stress–strain behaviors of fiber and matrix phases,
 the phase volume fractions and the direction in which the stress or
load is applied
• the properties of a composite having its fibers aligned are highly
anisotropic, that is, they depend on the direction in which they are
measured.
Materials Engineering Dept. 39
 What are the
Tensile Stress–Strain Behavior—Longitudinal Loading
Elastic Behavior—Longitudinal Loading
Elastic Behavior—Transverse Loading
•Discontinuous and Randomly Oriented–Fiber Composites

(a) Schematic stress–strain curves for brittle fiber and ductile

matrix materials. Fracture stresses and strains for both materials
are noted. (b) Schematic stress–strain curve for an aligned fiber–
reinforced coalignmentmposite that is exposed to a uniaxial
Materials Engineering Dept. 40
stress
applied in the direction of
• THE FIBER PHASE
• important characteristic of most materials, especially brittle is
small diameter fiber is much stronger than the bulk material
 materials used for reinforcing fibers have high tensile strengths
 fibers are grouped into three according to diameter and character,
• Whiskers are very thin single crystals that have extremely large
length-to-diameter ratios.
• As a consequence of their small size, they have a high degree of
crystalline perfection and are virtually flaw-free, which accounts
for their exceptionally high strengths; they are among the strongest
known materials.
because of their extremely expensive we can’t use as reinforcement
Moreover, it is impractical to incorporate whiskers into a matrix.
Whisker materials include graphite, silicon carbide, silicon
Materials Engineering Dept. 41
nitride,
and aluminum oxide
• Fibers
• Materials classified are either polycrystalline or amorphous and
have small diameters;
• fibrous materials are generally either polymers or ceramics (e.g.,
the polymer aramids, glass, carbon, boron, aluminum oxide, and
silicon carbide).
• Wires
• Fine wires have relatively large diameters; typical materials include
steel, molybdenum, and tungsten.
Wires are used as a radial steel reinforcement in automobile tires, in
filament-wound rocket casings, and in wire-wound high-pressure
hoses.Materials Engineering Dept. 42
• THE MATRIX PHASE
• of fibrous composites may be a metal, polymer, or ceramic.
• In general, metals and polymers are used as matrix materials
because some ductility is desirable; for ceramic-matrix composites
 added reinforcing component is used to improve fracture toughness
It serves as
 a binder of the fiber
 is to protect the individual fibers from surface damage as a result
of mechanical abrasion or chemical reactions with the environment
 It separates the fibers and, by virtue of its relative softness and
plasticity, prevents the propagation of brittle cracks from fiber to
fiber, which could result in catastrophic failure; in other words, the
matrix phase
Materials Engineeringserves
Dept. as a barrier to crack propagation. 43
Matrix should be ductile
 Composites – Polymer Matrix (PMC)
consist of a polymer resin as the matrix and fibers as the
reinforcement medium.
PMC and fiber reinforced plastics (FRP) are referredto as Reinforced
Plastics.
Common fibers used are glass (GFRP), graphiteFRP, boron, and
aramids (Kevlar). These fibers have high specific strength (strength-
to-weight ratio) and specific stiffness (stiffness-to-weight ratio)
The most widely used and
least expensive polymer
resins are the polyesters and
vinyl esters.
Matrix materials are usually thermoplastics or thermosets;
polyester, epoxy
Materials Engineering Dept. (80% of reinforced plastics), 44

fluorocarbon, silicon, phenolic.

• Glass Fiber–Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) Composites
• Fiberglass is simply a composite consisting of glass fibers, either
continuous or discontinuous, contained within a polymer matrix;
• The composition of the glass that is most commonly drawn into fibers
• Fiber diameters normally range between 3 and 20µm.
• Glass is popular as a fiber reinforcement material for several reasons:
• It is easily drawn into high-strength fibers from the molten state.
• It is readily available and may be fabricated into a glass-reinforced
plastic economically using a wide variety of composite-manufacturing
techniques.
• As a fiber it is relatively strong, and when embedded in a plastic matrix,
it produces a composite having a very high specific strength.
• When coupled with the various plastics, it possesses a chemical inertness
Materials Engineering Dept. 45
that renders the composite useful in a variety of corrosive environments.
• Application fiberglass:
 automotive and marine bodies, plastic pipes, storage containers, and
industrial floorings.
 The transportation industries are using increasing amounts of glass
fiber–reinforced plastics in an effort to decrease vehicle weight and
boost fuel efficiencies.
 A host of new applications is being used or currently investigated by
the automotive industry.
• What are the limitation of those materials
 spite of having high strengths, they are not very stiff and do not
display the rigidity
• During service at temperatures below 200C (400F); at higher
temperatures, most
Materials Engineering Dept. polymers begin to flow or to deteriorate.
46
• Carbon Fiber–Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Composites
• Carbon is a high-performance fiber material that is the most commonly
used reinforcement in advanced (i.e., non-fiberglass) polymer-matrix
composites.
• The reasons for this are as follows
1. Carbon fibers have high specific moduli and specific strengths.
2. They retain their high tensile modulus and high strength at elevated
temperatures; high-temperature oxidation, however, may be a problem.
3. At room temperature, carbon fibers are not affected by moisture or a wide
variety of solvents, acids, and bases.
4. These fibers exhibit a diversity of physical and mechanical characteristics,
allowing composites incorporating these fibers to have specific engineered
properties.
5. Fiber- and composite-manufacturing processes have been developed that
Materials Engineering Dept. 47

are relatively inexpensive and cost effective.

• Carbon-reinforced polymer composites are currently being used
extensively in
sports and recreational equipment (fishing rods, golf clubs),
filament-wound rocket motor cases, pressure vessels, and
aircraft structural components—both military and commercial, both
fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters (e.g., as wing, body, stabilizer,
and rudder components).

Materials Engineering Dept. 48

• Aramid Fiber–Reinforced Polymer Composites
• are high-strength and modulus materials that introduced early 70s
They are especially desirable for their outstanding strength-to-
weight ratios, which are superior to those of metals.
• Chemically, this group of materials is known as poly(paraphenylene
terephthalamide).
• There are a number of aramid materials; trade names for two of the
most common are Kevlar and Nomex.
• Even though the aramids are thermoplastics, they are, nevertheless,
resistant to combustion and stable to relatively high temperatures;
• Chemically, they are susceptible to degradation by strong acids and
bases, but they are relatively inert in other solvents and chemicals.
• Common matrix materials are the epoxies and polyesters. Because
the fibers are relatively flexible and somewhat ductile, they may be
processed by most
Materials Engineering Dept. common textile operations 49
• METAL-MATRIX COMPOSITES
• the matrix is a ductile metal.
used at higher service temperatures than their base-metal
reinforcement may improve specific stiffness, specific strength,
abrasion resistance, creep resistance, thermal conductivity, and
dimensional stability.
MMC have some more advantageous over the polymer-matrix
composites include higher operating temperatures, non-
flammability, and greater resistance to degradation by organic
fluids.
Metal-matrix composites are much more expensive than PMCs,
and, therefore, MMC use is somewhat restricted.
• The superalloys, as well as alloys of aluminum, magnesium,
titanium, and copper, are used as matrix materials.
• The reinforcement may be in the form of particulates, both
Materials Engineering Dept. 50

continuous and discontinuous fibers

• Processing of MMCs involves at least two steps:
• consolidation or synthesis (i.e., introduction of reinforcement into
the matrix), followed by a shaping operation. A host of
consolidation techniques are available, some of which are relatively
sophisticated; discontinuous-fiber MMCs are amenable to shaping
by standard metal forming operations (e.g., forging, extrusion,
rolling)
Recently Automobile manufacturers are using MMC in engine
The aerospace industry also employs MMCs in the form of
advanced aluminumalloy metal-matrix composites.
These materials have low densities, and it is possible to control their
properties (i.e., mechanical and thermal properties). Continuous
graphite fibers are used as the reinforcement for an antenna boom
on the Hubble Space Telescope; this boom stabilizes the antenna
position during space maneuvers
Materials Engineering Dept. 51
Excellent high-temperature oxidation resistance and impact strength
are also maintained..
Materials Engineering Dept. Tesfay G 52
Newly ceramic whiskers uses toughening techniques, often S iC or Si3N4
Is one of the most advanced and promising of engineering materials
both reinforcement and matrix are carbon
•These materials are relatively new and expensive
•Have properties resistance to creep, and relatively large fracture toughness
values, high-tensile moduli and tensile strengths
•have low coefficients of thermal expansion and relatively high thermal
conductivities; these characteristics, coupled with high strengths, give rise to
a relatively low susceptibility to thermal shock.
•Their major drawback is a propensity to high-temperature oxidation.
•are employed in rocket motors, as friction materials in aircraft and high-
performance automobiles, for hot-pressing molds, in components for
advanced turbine engines, and as ablative shields for re-entry vehicles
Materials Engineering Dept. 53
HYBRID COMPOSITES
•Obtained by combining of two or more different kinds of fibers in a single
matrix;
have a better all-around combination of properties than composites
containing only a single fiber type
Among the most common carbon and glass fibers are incorporated into a
polymeric resin.
are strong, relatively stiff and provide a low-density reinforcement &
expensive
inexpensive and lack the stiffness of carbon
•The glass–carbon hybrid is stronger and tougher, has a higher impact
resistance, and may be produced at a lower cost than either of the
comparable all-carbon or all-glass reinforced plastics
•The combustion process may be different types (aligned and intimately
mixed with one another, laminations)
Materials Engineering Dept. 54
hybrids, the properties are anisotropic.
•When hybrid composites are stressed in tension,
•failure is usually non-catastrophic (i.e., does not occur
suddenly).
•The carbon fibers are the first to fail, at which time
the load is transferred to the glass fibers.
•Upon failure of the glass fibers, the matrix phase must
sustain the applied load.
•Eventual composite failure concurs with that of the
matrix phase.
•Principal applications for hybrid composites are
lightweight land, water, and air transport structural
components, sporting
Materials Engineering Dept. goods, and lightweight 55

orthopedic components.
• PROCESSING OF FIBER-REINFORCED COMPOSITES
• To fabricate continuous fiber–reinforced plastics that meet design
specifications, the fibers should be
 uniformly distributed within the plastic matrix and,
 in most instances, all oriented in virtually the same direction.
We must be discusses basic techniques
 pultrusion,
 prepare production processes, and
 filament winding

Materials Engineering Dept. 56

• Pultrusion
is used for the manufacture of components having continuous lengths
and a constant cross-sectional shape (rods, tubes, beams, etc.)
 continuous-fiber rovings, or tows, are first impregnated with a
thermosetting resin; these are then
 pulled through a steel die that preforms to the desired shape and
also establishes the resin/fiber ratio.
 The stock then passes through a curing die that is precision
machined so as to impart the final shape
 this die is also heated to initiate curing of the resin matrix.
 pulling device draws the stock through the dies and also
determines the production speed.
 Tubes and hollow sections are made possible by using center
mandrels or inserted hollow cores.
Materials Engineering Dept. 57
• Principal reinforcements are glass, carbon, and aramid fibers,
normally added in concentrations between 40 and 70 vol%.
• Pultrusion is a continuous process that is easily automated;
production rates are relatively high, making it very cost effective.
• Furthermore, a wide variety of shapes are possible, and there is
really no practical limit to the length of stock that may be
manufactured.

Materials Engineering Dept. 58

• Prepreg Production Processes
• Prepreg is the composite industry’s term for continuous-fiber reinforcement
pre-impregnated with a polymer resin that is only partially cured.
• This material is delivered in tape form to the manufacturer, then directly
molds and fully cures the product without add any resin.
• It is probably the composite material form most widely used for structural
applications.
• prepregging process of thermoset polymers are
 collimating a series of spool-wound continuous-fiber tows
 sandwiched and pressed the tows between sheets of release and carrier paper
using heated rollers, a process termed calendaring
 The release paper sheet has been coated with a thin film of heated resin
solution of relatively low viscosity so as to provide for its thorough
impregnation of the fibers.
• A doctor blade spreads the resin into a film of uniform thickness and width
Materials Engineering Dept. 59
• Filament Winding
• is a process by which continuous reinforcing fibers are accurately
positioned in a predetermined pattern to form a hollow (usually
cylindrical) shape.
• The fibers, either as individual strands or as tows, are first fed
through a resin bath and then are continuously wound onto a
mandrel, usually using automated winding equipment
• After the appropriate number of layers have been applied, curing
is carried out either in an oven or at room temperature, after
which the mandrel is removed.
• As an alternative, narrow and thin prepregs (i.e. tow pregs) 10
mm or less in width may be filament wound.
• Various winding patterns are possible (i.e., circumferential,
helical, and
Materials polar)
Engineering Dept. to give the desired mechanical characteristics.
60
• Structural Composites
• A structural composite is a multi-layered and normally low-
density composite used in applications requiring structural
integrity, ordinarily high tensile, compressive, and torsional
strengths and stiffness's.
• Properties of these composites depend not only on the
properties of the constituent materials, but also on the
geometrical design of the structural elements.
• the most common structural composites are
 Laminar composites and
 sandwich panels

Materials Engineering Dept. 61

• Laminar composites
• is composed of two-dimensional sheets or panels (plies or laminae)
bonded to one another.
• Each ply has a preferred high-strength direction, such as is found in
continuous and aligned fiber–reinforced polymers
 there are four classes of laminar composites:
unidirectional, cross-ply, angle-ply and multidirectional.
• Applications that use laminate composites are primarily in aircraft,
automotive, marine, and building/civil-infrastructure sectors.
• Specific applications include the following: aircraft—fuselage, vertical
and horizontal stabilizers, landing-gear hatch, floors, and rotor blades for
helicopters; automotive—automobile panels, sports car bodies, and drive
shafts; marine—ship hulls, hatch covers, deckhouses, bulkheads, and
propellers;
• building/civil-infrastructure—bridge components, long-span roof
structures, beams,
Materials Engineering Dept.structural panels, roof panels, and tanks 62
• Sandwich panels,
• a class of structural composites, are designed to be lightweight
beams or panels having relatively high stiffness's and strengths.
 sandwich panel consists of two outer sheets, faces, or skins that
are separated by and adhesively bonded to a thicker core
• The outer sheets are made of a relatively stiff and strong material,
typically aluminum alloys, steel and stainless steel, fiber-
reinforced plastics, and plywood; they carry bending loads that are
applied to the panel
• The core material is lightweight and normally has a low modulus
of elasticity
• Structurally, it serves several functions: it provides continuous
support for the faces and holds them together.
• Tensile and compressive stresses on the core are much lower than
on theMaterials
faces. Engineering Dept. 63
• Panel stiffness depends primarily on the properties of the core material and
core thickness; bending stiffness increases significantly with increasing
core thickness.
• Core materials typically fall within three categories: rigid polymeric
foams, wood, and honeycombs.
• • Both thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers are used as rigid foam
materials; these include (and are ranked from least to most expensive)
polystyrene, phenolformaldehyde (phenolic), polyurethane, poly(vinyl
chloride), polypropylene, polyetherimide, and polymethacrylimide.
• • Balsa wood is also commonly used as a core material for several reasons:
(1) Its density is extremely low, however, is higher than some other core
materials; (2) it is relatively inexpensive; and (3) it has relatively high
compression and shear strengths.
• • “honeycomb” structure—thin foils that have been formed into
interlocking cells (having hexagonal as well as other configurations), with
axes oriented perpendicular to the face planes;
• Sandwich panels are used in a wide variety aircraft, construction,
Materials Engineering Dept. 64

automotive, and marine applications,

 • Application of Composites

Lance Armstrong’s 2-lb.

Trek bike, 2004 Tour de
France

Pedestrian bridge in
Denmark, 130 feet long
(1997)

Swedish Navy, Stealth

(2005)
Materials Engineering Dept. 65

Tesfay G MATERIALS ENGINEERING DEPT. 65

• Nano composites
• are composed of Nano sized particles (or nanoparticles) that are
embedded in a matrix material
 Can be designed to have mechanical, electrical, magnetic, optical,
thermal, biological, and transport properties that are superior to
conventional filler materials;
• An interesting and novel phenomenon accompanies the decrease in
size of a nanoparticle—its physical and chemical properties
experience dramatic changes;
 furthermore, the degree of change depends on particle size (i.e.,
number of atoms).
For example, the permanent magnetic behavior of some materials
[e.g., iron, cobalt, and iron oxide (Fe3O4)] disappears for particles
having diameters smaller than about 50 nm.
Materials Engineering Dept. 66
• Nanocomposite matrix materials may be metals and ceramics, the most
common matrices are polymers.
• For these polymer nanocomposites, a large number of thermoplastic,
thermosetting, and elastomeric matrices are used, including epoxy resins,
polyurethanes, polypropylene, polycarbonate, silicone resins, and natural
rubber.
• The properties of a nanocomposite depend not only on the properties of
both matrix and nanoparticle, but also on nanoparticle shape and content
as well as matrix– nanoparticle interfacial characteristics.
• Most of today’s commercial nanocomposites use three general
nanoparticle types:
 nanocarbons, nanoclays, and particulate nanocrystals
• One of the main challenges in the production of nanocomposite materials
is processing.
• For most applications, the nano-size particles must be dispersed
uniformly and homogeneously within the matrix
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• What are the advantages of Nano-composites than other
composite materials

Materials Engineering Dept. 68