Composites-Fundamentals

Professor C. Bhaskaran HITS Hindustan University PADUR, Chennai-603103

1.What is a composite?

A composite is a structural material consisting of two or more constituents. The constituents are combined in a macroscopic level and are not soluble in each other. One constituent is called the reinforcing phase and the other one in which it is embedded is called the matrix. The reinforcing phase material may be in the form of fibres, particles or flakes. The matrix phase materials are generally continuous. e.g.; Epoxy reinforced with glass fibre, concrete.

2. Give some examples of naturally found composites.

Natural composites include wood (lignin matrix reinforced with cellular fibres), bones (short and soft collagen fibres embedded in a mineral matrix called apatite). 3. What are advanced composites? Advanced comps are materials generally used in aerospace industries. These composites have high performance reinforcements of a thin diameter in a matrix material such as epoxy , Al. etc. eg: graphite/epoxy, kevlar/epoxy, boron/al. composites. These materials have found applications in commercial industries as well.

4. What are the advantages of composites over metals?

Monolithic metals and alloys cannot always meet the demands of todays advanced technologies. Only by combining several materials can one meet the performance requirements. e.g.: structures used in satellites need to be dimensionally stable in space during temperature changes between -160 deg C and 100 deg C. Coefficient of thermal expansion has to be low and may be of the order of +/- 2x10-7/deg C.(CTE for steel is 12x10-6/deg C) Monolithic materials cannot meet these requirements, which leave composites such as graphite/epoxy as the only material to satisfy.

--contd-In many cases using composites is more efficient. e.g.; In the airlines market we are looking for ways to lower the overall mass of the aircraft without decreasing the stiffness and strength of the component. This is possible by replacing the conventional metal alloys with composites. Reducing a mass of one kg from a commercial aircraft can save 3000 liters of aviation fuel per annum and fuel costs are 25% of the total operating cost of a commercial airliner. Composites offer several other advantages over conventional materials, such as improved strength, stiffness, fatigue and impact resistance, corrosion resistance, etc.

5. How is the mechanical advantage of composites measured?

Two parameters are generally used to measure the relative mechanical advantage of composite materials. One parameter is called the specific stiffness and is defined as the ratio between the youngs modulus (E) and the density ( ) of the material. The other parameter is called the specific strength and is defined as the ratio between the strength ( ult ) and the density of the material ( ), that is, specific stiffness = E/ specific strength = ult / The above two ratios are high in composites.

Material

Specific gravity

Graphite

1.8 1.4 2.5 1.6 1.8 1.6 1.8 7.8 2.6

Unidirectional

Youngs E/row (GPa Modulus(G m**3 /kg) Pa) 230.0 0.1278

E1/2/row E1/3 / (Pa**1/2m**3 (Pa**1 /kg) m**3/

266.4 251.5 116.6 265.9 109.1 193.6 65.31 58.3 101.0

C crossply

3.40

Kevlar Glass U Gr/E U Gl/E C Gr/E C Gl/E Steel Al

U Gr/E :

124.0 85.0 181.0 38.6 95.98 23.58 206.8 68.95

0.08857

0.034 0.1131
0.02144

0.060 0.0131 0.0265 0.0265

3.56 1.75 3.53 1.87 2.86 1.59 0.75 1.57

Graphite/Epox epoxy y

--contd--

On a first look , fibres such as graphite, aramid (kevlar) and glass have specific modulus several times that of metals, such as steel and Aluminium. This gives a false impression about the mechanical advantages of composites because they are made not only of fibres, but are combined with a matrix; and matrices generally have very low modulus and strength than fibres.

6. Is the comparison of the specific modulus and specific strength parameters of unidirectional composites to metals now fair? The answer is No for two reasons: First, unidirectional composites are acceptable only for carrying simple loads such as uniaxial tension. In structures with complex requirements of loading and stiffness, composite structures with angle plies will be necessary. Second, the strengths and elastic moduli of unidirectional composites given in the table are those in the direction of the fibre. The strength and elastic moduli perpendicular to the fibres are far less.

7. Are specific modulus and specific strength the only parameters used for measuring the relative advantage of composites over metals? No, it depends on the application. Consider compression of a column, where it may fail due to buckling. The Euler buckling load for a long column is, Pcr =(pi**2) EI/L**2, where Pcr is the critical buckling load(N) E-Youngs Modulus (GPa) I-second moment of area (m4) L-length of the column (m).

--contd--

If the column has a circular cross section, the second moment of area is, I = d**4/64 (m**4), 2 and the mass of the rod is m = d l 4 where, m is the mass of the rod (kg), is the density of the material of the rod (kg/m3), d is the diameter of the rod (m). Since the length l and the load P are constant, we find the mass of the column as, m = 2L**2( )(Pcr/ E)**1/2. This means the lightest column is one with highest E1/ 2

--contd--

Similarly, we can prove that for achieving the minimum deflection in a beam under a load, the lightest beam is the one with the highest value of (E**1/3/row). Values of these two parameters, E**1/2 /row and E**1/3 /row for typical fibres, unidirectional composites, cross-ply laminates, steel and aluminium are given in the table. Comparing these numbers with metals shows composites drawing a better advantage for these two parameters. Other mechanical parameters for comparing the performance include resistance to fracture, fatigue, impact and creep.

8. Are there any limitations in using composites?

Following are the limitations in using composites:

High cost of fabrication. e.g.; a part made of graphite/epoxy composite may cost up to 10 to 15 times the material cost. (Improvements in manufacturing techniques may lower the production cost.) Mechanical characterization of a composite structure is more complex than that of a metal structure. Composites are not isotropic, that is, their properties are not the same in all directions. So they require more material parameters for conducting mechanical analysis. Repair of is also complex compared to metals. Sometimes cracks and critical flaws may go undetected in composite structures.

--contd- Composites do not have a high combination of strength and fracture toughness as compared to metals. Composites do not necessarily give higher performance in all the properties used for material selection such as strength, toughness, formability, corrosion resistance, affordability, etc. ----------------------------- Note: In a material with a crack, the value of the stress intensity factor gives the measure of the stresses in the crack tip region. Eg. For an infinite plate with a crack of length 2a under a uniaxial load , the stress intensity factor is, k a If stress intensity factor at the crack tip is greater than the critical stress intensity factor for the material, the crack will grow. The greater the value of the critical SIF, the tougher the material. The critical SIF is called the fracture toughness of the material.Typical fracture toughness values are 26 MPa m**1/2 for Al and 28 MPa m**1/2 for steel.

9. Why are fibre reinforcements of a thin diameter?

The main reasons for using thin diameter fibres are the following: Materials have actual strengths which are several magnitudes lower than the theoretical strength. This difference is due to the inherent flaws in the material. Removing these flaws can increase the strength of the material. As the fibres become smaller in diameter, it reduces the chances of an inherent flaw in the material. For higher ductility and toughness, and better transfer of loads from the matrix to fibre, composite require larger surface area of the fibre matrix interface.

--contd--

For the same volume fraction of fibres in a composite, the area of the fibre matrix interface is inversely proportional to the diameter of the fibre. Ability of fibre to bend without breaking is required in manufacturing of composite materials, especially for woven fabric composites. Flexibility is defined as the inverse of bending stiffness and is proportional to the inverse of the product of the elastic modulus of the fibre and the fourth power of its diameter. Flexibility is proportional to 1/(Ed**4).