Lecture 1, 2-Introduction of Composites

Introduction to Composites
Definition of Composites: What are Composites?

What is Concept of Composites?
History of composites.
COMPOSITE MATERIAL
A combination of two or more materials to form
a new material system with enhanced material
properties
Reinforcement + Matrix = Composite

WHAT ARE COMPOSITES?
 Composites: A combination of two or more materials (reinforcement, resin, filler, etc.),
differing in form or composition on a macroscale. The constituents retain their
identities, i.e.., they do not dissolve or merge into each other, although they act in
concert. Normally, the components can be physically identified and exhibit an interface
between each other.
 Composites: Artificially produced multiphase materials.
 Composites: Design materials with properties better than those of conventional

materials (metals, ceramics, or polymers).
 Composites: materials, usually man-made, that are a three- dimensional
combination of at least two chemically distinct materials, with a distinct
interface separating the components, created to obtain properties that
cannot be achieved by any of the components acting alone.
 Composites: are combinations of two materials in which one of the

materials, called the reinforcing phase, is in the form of fibers, sheets, or
particles, and is embedded in the other materials called the matrix phase.
The reinforcing material and the matrix material can be metal, ceramic, or
polymer.
 In their broadest form, composites are materials consist of two or more
constituents. The constituents are combined in such a way that they keep their
individual physical phases and are not soluble in each other or not to form a new
chemical compound.
 One constituent is called reinforcing phase and the one in which the reinforcing
phase is embedded is called matrix.
 Historical or natural examples of composites are abundant:
brick made of clay reinforced with straw, mud wall with bamboo shoots, concrete,
concrete reinforced with steel rebar, granite consisting of quartz, mica and feldspar,
wood (cellulose fibers in lignin matrix), etc. 6
 Composites: A judicious combination of two or more materials that
produces a synergistic effect. A material system composed of two or more
physically distinct phases whose combination produces aggregate properties
that are different from those of its constituents.
SOME DEFINITIONS…
• Repair: To replace or correct deteriorated, damaged or faulty materials,
components, or elements of a structure.
• Rehabilitation: Process of repairing or modifying structure to the desired or useful

condition
• Restoration: Process of reestablishing the
materials, form and appearance of a structure to those of a particular era of the structure
• Preservation: Process of maintaining a structure its present condition and arresting its
further deterioration
• Strengthening: Process of increasing the load resistant capacity of a structure or a portion

of it
WHAT ARE ADVANCED COMPOSITES?
 Advanced Composites: Advanced composite materials are refereed
to those composite materials developed and used in the aerospace
industries. They usually consist of high performance fibers as
reinforcing phases and polymers or metals as matrices.
Advanced Composite Materials
Definition: An advanced composite material comprises at least two chemically different
materials (heterogeneity): a reinforcement, and a matrix that binds the reinforcement and is
separated from it by a sharp interface.
Dispersed phase
within continuous
phase
Phases of Composites
 Matrix Phase: Polymers, Metals, Ceramics
Also, continuous phase, surrounds other phase (e.g.: metal, ceramic, or polymer)
 Reinforcement Phase: Fibers, Particles, or Flakes
Also, dispersed phase, discontinuous phase (e.g.: metal, ceramic, or polymer)

 → Interface between matrix and reinforcement
 Examples:
– Jello and cole slaw/mixed fruit
– Peanut brittle
– Straw in mud
– Wood (cellulose fibers in hemicellulose and lignin)
– Bones (soft protein collagen and hard apatite minerals)
– Pearlite (ferrite and cementite)
Factors in Creating Composites
 Factors in creating composites:
– Matrix material
→ control or design properties
– Reinforcement material
BASIC DEFINITIONS
Ceramics
 Ceramics: Ceramic materials are inorganic, nonmetallic materials. Most ceramics are
compounds between metallic and nonmetallic elements for which the interatomic
bonds are either totally ionic or predominantly ionic but having some covalent
character.
 The term ceramic comes from the Greek word keramikos, which means burnt
stuff, indicating that desirable properties of these materials are normally achieved
through a high- temperature heat treatment process called firing.
 Composites are a combination of two or
more distinct materials
 Fiber reinforced polymers (FRP)
– Fibers (carbon or glass)
– Resins (epoxy matrix)

Particle Reinforced Composites
 Reinforced concrete (Particle Reinforced Composites):
– Concrete (matrix)
– Steel (reinforcement)
 Dispersion-strengthened (large particles):
– Fine particles of hard and inert materials (e.g., Al O , ThO ),
– Matrix transfers some load to particles
 Examples:
1. Concrete= cement matrix + sand/gravel particles
2. Cermets - ceramic particles in metallic matrix
WC + Co (cutting tools)
General Principles and Basic Concepts of Composites
 A “Principle of combined action” - better properties by the combination of two or

more distinct materials
 In Antiquity: mechanical properties = decisive factor in materials selection – Still

true today!
 But: new concepts, new families of materials
 Reinforcement of ‘matrix’ by a second dispersed phase = optimum answer to

stringent requirements: performance, price, lightweight.
 This concept is old and simple.
• Four fundamental concepts form the basis of the composite principle:
Heterogeneity
Anisotropy
Symmetry
Hierarchy
• Many natural forms of dispersed phase possess a nanometric dimension,

whereas most current man-made composites include micron-scale fibers
The Main Characteristics Of Composite Materials
(I) Heterogeneity: Non-uniformity of the chemical/physical structure
(II) Anisotropy: Direction dependence of the physical properties
(III) Symmetry: Tensorial nature of material properties
(IV) Hierarchy: Stacking of individual structural units
Moreover:
Interfacial properties - the interface may be regarded as a third phase

CONTINUED……
Also in early Central and South America
Also in Nature: same concept (bones, finger nails, rhinoceros horn, wood,
etc)
 Fibre reinforced plastics:
 Classified by type of fiber:
 Wood (cellulose fibers in a lignin and hemicellulose matrix)

 Carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CRP)
 Glass-fibre reinforced plastic (GRP) (informally, "fiberglass")

 Classified by matrix:
 Thermoplastic Composites
– short fiber thermoplastics
– long fiber thermoplastics or long fiber reinforced thermoplastics

– glass mat thermoplastics
– continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastics
 Reinforced carbon-carbon (carbon fibre in a graphite matrix)
 Metal matrix composites (MMCs):
 White cast iron
 Hardmetal (carbide in metal matrix)
 Metal-intermetallic laminate
 Ceramic matrix composites:
 Bone (hydroxyapatite reinforced with collagen fibers)
 Cermet (ceramic and metal)
 Concrete
 Organic matrix/ceramic aggregate composites
 Asphalt concrete
 Dental composite
 Syntactic foam
 Mother of Pearl
CONTINUED……
 Chobham armour (see composite armour)
 Engineered wood
 Plywood
 Oriented strand board
 Wood plastic composite (recycled wood fiber in polyethylene
matrix)
 Pykrete (sawdust in ice matrix)
 Plastic-impregnated or laminated paper or textiles
 Arborite
 Formica (plastic)
History of Composites
 Nature
 Uses composites in structural components of both animals and
plants
 Man
 Ancient civilizations made bricks of mud and straw
 Mongols made bows of cattle tendons, wood and silk
 Japanese samurai swords and Damascus gun barrels, were both
made of layers of Iron and Steel.
Past
Present

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Introduction to Composites

Definition of Composites: What are Composites?

Reinforcement + Matrix = Composite

 Composites: Artificially produced multiphase materials.

 Composites: Design materials with properties better than those of conventional

 Composites: are combinations of two materials in which one of the

• Rehabilitation: Process of repairing or modifying structure to the desired or useful

• Strengthening: Process of increasing the load resistant capacity of a structure or a portion

Also, dispersed phase, discontinuous phase (e.g.: metal, ceramic, or polymer)

 Fiber reinforced polymers (FRP)

– Fibers (carbon or glass)

– Resins (epoxy matrix)

 A “Principle of combined action” - better properties by the combination of two or

 In Antiquity: mechanical properties = decisive factor in materials selection – Still

 Reinforcement of ‘matrix’ by a second dispersed phase = optimum answer to

• Many natural forms of dispersed phase possess a nanometric dimension,

(II) Anisotropy: Direction dependence of the physical properties

(III) Symmetry: Tensorial nature of material properties

(IV) Hierarchy: Stacking of individual structural units

Interfacial properties - the interface may be regarded as a third phase

Also in early Central and South America

 Wood (cellulose fibers in a lignin and hemicellulose matrix)

 Glass-fibre reinforced plastic (GRP) (informally, "fiberglass")

– long fiber thermoplastics or long fiber reinforced thermoplastics

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