COMPOSITES MATERIALS

The first modern composite and is still the most common is the Fiberglass, developed around 1940. Corresponding to 65 per cent of all the composites produced today and is used for boat hulls, surfboards, sporting goods, swimming pool linings, building panels and car bodies.

Composite are used in an increasing number of products ranging from simple sport products to advanced aerospace structures as more manufacturers discover the benefits of these versatile materials.

Composite material is normally composed of at least two elements working together to produce new bonded material properties that are different to the individual original properties.

Combining two or more materials that have quite different properties forms composite materials. The different materials working together provide the composite unique properties. Wood is a natural composite, with long fibers of cellulose as a resin held together by a much weaker substance called lignin (as a complex polymer). It is the lignin that makes a piece of timber much more stronger than a bundle of cotton fibers. Cellulose is also found in cotton and linen, but it is the binding power of lignin the makes wood stronger.

The Composite Materials market, are estimated in 7 to 8 millions of tons, all types included.
The mass of composites in a European car is equivalent to 10% or one third of the vehicle in terms of volume.
In fact, the High Performance (HP) composites market is recognized for its technological innovation and belong to the so-called « advanced materials » which are essential to the development of many products of modern civilization: aircrafts, helicopters, missiles, naval construction, cars, boats, etc..

Steel reinforced concrete for buildings, high performance ceramic protective covering designed to resist explosive impacts are some of modern composite materials that constitute a significant proportion of the engineering materials market through to sophisticated ranging applications. Each type of composite presents specific performance characteristics that provide designate selected applications.

Fiber reinforced polymers can be tailored to have high strength tied with relatively low weight, corrosion resistance, flexibility and offer long term durability under most conditions of hard environmental exposure.

 

 

COMPOSITES GUIDE
Introduction

This section looks to guide at basic composite theory, properties of materials used, various processing techniques commonly found and applications of composite products. The complementary information is supplied by the next page WEB directory, comprising the most important links on Composites themes.

Principal performances of Composites:

 

 

¤ High specific strength properties
¤ About 20-40% weight savings from correspondent materials
¤ Aptitude to fabricate directional mechanical properties
¤ Exceptional corrosion resistance
¤ Excellent fatigue and fracture resistance
¤ Lower tooling cost alternatives
¤ Lower thermal expansion properties
¤ Manufacturing Simplification by integration of parts and accessories
¤ Rapid process cycles Potential
¤ Capability to answer to severe dimensional stability requirements
¤ Fatigue resistance and long-term durability characteristics when under load or exposed to hard operating environment
¤ Steady behavior under loaded conditions
¤ Easy to inspect the quality of repair or upgrade installations
¤ Increased awareness and confidence in applications of advanced composites.

 

BASIC COMPOSITES

A large amount of composites are made up of just two materials. One material being the matrix or binder surrounds and binds together the reinforcement a cluster of fibers or fragments of a much stronger material. In fiberglass, fine threads or fibers of glass, often woven into a sort of cloth, provide the reinforcement and the matrix is a plastic.

 

 

 

METALS & ALLOYS
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Modern engineering practice is represented by structural steel, the versatile construction material has several characteristics, or properties, while structural steel is an especially common example of metals for engineering, it is necessary to consider numerous others such as gold, platinum, lead and tin.

An alloy is a metal composed of more than one element. Engineering alloys include the cast irons and steels, aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, titanium alloys, nickel alloys, zinc alloys and copper alloys.

 

 

 

 

CERAMICS
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The term ceramic means burnt stuff, indicating that desirable properties of these materials are normally attained due to a high-temperature heat treatment process. Ceramic materials are inorganic, nonmetallic materials.
Ceramic materials are essential nowadays as example ceramic engine offers huge advantages in terms of fuel economy, efficiency, weight savings and performance as well as some of the internal automotive components made from ceramics.