OVERVIEW OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS 1 Theodore J. Reinhart 11 INTRODUCTION Composite materials are macroscopic combi- nations of two or more distinct materials having a discrete and recognizable interface separating them. Thus composites are hetero- geneous materials, and many are naturally occurring; the most common is wood. The composites of interest in this discussion, how- ever, are the synthetic, man-made materials, possessing high strength and /or stiffness rela- tive to weight which are used in high performance structural applications because of these properties. Figure 1.1 shows the strength- and stiffness-to-weight relationships for several fibers when arrayed in unidirec- tional laminates. The narrower definition of composites becomes more specific and can be restricted to those combinations of materials that contain high strength/stiffness fiber reinforcements supported by a high performance matrix material. Fibers and matrix materials may be organic or inorganic in chemical make up. Normally the fibrous reinforcement material is referred to as the discontinuous phase and the ‘matrix material as the continuous phase. The primary engineering properties of the composite aré derived predominantly from the mechanical and physical properties of the discontinuous phase, the fiber reinforcement. These are the fiber-dominated properties of the composite. Increasing the fiber volume Handbook of Composites, Edited by ST. Peters, Published. in 1998 by Chapman & Hall, London. ISBN 0 412 54020 7 fraction results in increases in the levels of ‘mechanical properties up to the point where there is insufficient matrix material to support the fibers and to transfer load within the com- posite. The matrix is the adhesive binder that supports the fibers under compressive loads, provides shear capabilities in two dimensional fiber lay-ups, and transfers loads internally in the composite among the myriad fibers and fiber bundles that comprise the load-carrying portions of the composite material. In two- dimensional composites the matrix provides the basic resistance to impact damage and delamination. atom 100 tect rh eam] ai ext 120 “Rania aT Sn ite i. fe wate moan, Sevet 2 Fig, 1.1 Plot of specific tensile strength to specific tensile modulus for commercially available com- posites,22 Overview of composite materials Matrix materials may be selected from metallic, ceramic and organic resin materials. With perhaps the exception of ceramic matrix composites, the matrix material is not as strong or as stiff as the discontinuous phase or fiber material. There are many exceptions or perhaps special cases to these statements. Many organic resin matrix materials are mod- ified to increase toughness by the addition of small amounts of rubber base or thermoplastic modifiers, thus forming a discontinuous phase of particles within the continuous matrix phase of the composite. The classes of fiber- reinforced composites are usually related to the form of the fibrous reinforcing material and include continuous, long discontinuous and short discontinuous fiber-reinforced com- posites. Complicating the straightforward classification are the forms of the reinforce- ment, such as woven, unwoven, braided, knitted and orthogonal arrays of reinforce- ments. All of the above are possible and each provides a unique set of engineering proper- ties. The available levels of engineering properties are governed by fiber length, fiber orientation and fiber “volume fraction. Continuous and long discontinuous fiber-rein- forced composites offer maximum levels of translation of fiber properties into useful com- posite engineering properties. Decreases in fiber length are accompanied by a decline in RESIN TYPE REINFORCEMENT TYPE LONG CONTINUOUS ‘THERMOPLASTIC composite engineering properties. At some point in this fiber length decrease the compos- ite properties will approach those of a system filled with particulate materials. Continuous fiber-reinforced composites are normally fabricated via a ply by ply lay-up technique resulting in a laminar (layered) con- struction, which may be converted, before or after impregnation with the matrix, but prior to consolidation and cure, to a three-dimen- sional composite. Figure 1.2 shows the wide range of composite constituent materials, and manufacturing and fabrication options. High performance composites offer combi- nations of engineering properties which cannot be achieved using homogeneous metallic alloy structural materials such as alu- minum, titanium and steel, and may provide a higher level of these properties. The largest volume usage of structural composites in industrial, aerospace, commercial and military applications is based upon resin matrix fiber- reinforced composites. Thus these composites will be emphasized throughout this volume. High performance composite materials were developed by the US Air Force Materials Laboratory in’a systematic search for structural materials that could offer weight savings over the conventional materials. This large and comprehensive R&D program to develop com- posites was initiated in response to a general FIBER PROCESS PLACEMENT S7AUTOCLAVE ‘> -PRESS CURE SS OVEN CURE INJECTION MOLDING ‘TRANSFER MOLDING -THERMOSTAMPING Fig. 1.2 Display of composite constituent materials and manufacturing options.call from the using communities for structural materials that could reduce weight and reduce corrosion and fatigue problems in aircraft com- ponents. Fiberglass reinforced resin base composites have been used successfully in fila- ment wound rocket motor cases as well as in various other aircraft and missile applications. Fiberglass reinforced composites in general lacked the stiffness that is desired in high per- formance structural applications in aircraft, missiles and spacecraft. The search for higher modulus glass fibers met with only limited suc- cess, however the use of boron, carbon, graphite and other compositions resulted in a technological breakthrough and provided a new class of structural materials called “Advanced Composites’. More recent develop- ments have led to the commercial availability of a wide range of high strength, high stiffness fiber materials, both organic and inorganic in nature, for use in high performance composite applications. ‘Advanced composite materials, while basi- cally more expensive as a raw material, more expensive and complicated to design with, more difficult to characterize, more expensive to manufacture and assemble and more diffi- cult to inspect when compared to conventional structural metallic materials, have found sig- nificant commercial, recreational, and military applications. Inexpensive fiberglass reinforced plastic composites, initially put to broad use in the 1950s, are found in a variety of industrial and consumer products from automotive and truck applications, to corrosion resistant pip- ing and construction, to large and small water craft. The service performance of these materi- als in the above and many other applications. has been highly satisfactory. Advanced composites have found exten- sive applications in many areas where cost is secondary to performance. Sporting and recre- ational applications including golf club shafts, fishing rods, and skis, have provided a signifi- cant market and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Military applications, while Introduction 23 presently decreasing, and the commercial air- plane producers, specifically Boeing and Aerospaciale, will continue to be a market for advanced composites. Large scale applications in transportation, both air and ground, and in the civil engineering infrastructure arena are and will continue to be an unrealized goal for advanced composite materials at least in the near term. Fibers are inherently stronger than the bulk form of a material for a number of reasons. Two major reasons are (i) the fiber’s small diameter with the probability of fewer flaws and (ii) the opportunity to align or preferen- tially orient molecular or crystal structure. All structural materials fail mechanically because of the formation, propagation and growth of flaws. Since composite construction provides very large numbers of load-carrying fibers, catastrophic failure requires the failure of many fibers. This situation then provides many early warning signs when significant damage is accumulating in a fiber-reinforced composite structure. Fibrous materials such $-glass, (Kevlar 49) aramid, Spectra, boron and the many types of carbon fibers produced commercially possess specific properties (strength/density) and (modulus/density) many times greater than structural alloys of aluminum, titanium or steel. However, when the fibers are combined with a matrix into a near quasi-isotropic lay-up, a highly useful engineering form of the material, the specific properties are greatly reduced but are still superior compared to conventional homogeneous metallic materials. Figure 1.1 plots the specific tensile strength versus the specific tensile modulus for a number of unidi- rectional composites and compares them to steel, aluminum and titanium materials. These are calculated values based upon literature fiber values and 65 vol.% fiber content. It can readily be seen that these high performance fiber materials form the basis for the advanced composites technology. The wide variety of materials that can be combined to form com- posites having highly acceptable levels of24 Overview of composite materials engineering properties can make the selection of specific materials a challenging task. This introduction will present the basic materials, design factors, material forms and fabrication methods used in the manufacture and assembly of advanced composite compo- nents. 1.2 GLASS FIBERS The development of glass fibers on a commer- cial scale was the enabling technology that allowed the glass fiber-reinforced organic resin matrix composite industry to begin. The initial understanding of organic matrix com- posites was based on glass fiber reinforcement. Glass fiber composites of all descriptions have found extensive and successful applica- tions including low performance non-structural applications as well as high performance struc- tural applications. The applications range from the building construction trades, to auto, truck and rail transportation, seagoing applications including high performance racing craft and commercial and military aerospace. Specific applications involve, decorative panels, appli- ances, ship and boat hulls, light aircraft and glider construction, nearly all forms of recre- ational equipment, high pressure gas containers and rocket motor casings. This wide spread use of glass fiber-reinforced organic composites and their continued future growth is due to many factors, including: cost, avail- ability, handling and processing ability, useful properties and characteristics and past good experience in service. Many improvements to glass fiber composites have been made over the years including the development of highly ben- eficial silane coupling agents. These agents, which can be tailored for compatibility with almost any resin matrix, provide a higher level of engineering properties and environmental durability far exceeding earlier composites. Glass fiber composites provide high levels of engineering properties, however the glass fiber urface is sensitive to moisture attack under certain conditions of exposure and above certain threshold stress levels. The phenome- non known as stress-rupture failure has been thoroughly investigated by researchers in the industry and government. The glass fiber that is the industry standard is E-glass, which is a calcium aluminoborosili- cate formulation having very good mechanical and electrical characteristics at very reason- able cost. Average mechanical property levels for individual filaments are 3450 MPa (500 ksi) for tensile strength and 72.4 GPa (10.5 x 10° psi) for Young’s modulus. Extensive research has been conducted to develop glass fibers pos- sessing higher strength and _ stiffness characteristics. Glass formulations producing filaments of increased strength and stiffness have been found to be toxic (beryllium glasses) or very high melting and difficult to handle in com- mercial scale equipment. S-glass fibers contain a higher percentage of alumina compared to E-glass. Filament strength, modulus and melt- ing point are higher than E-glass. Typical filament strength and stiffness are close to 4600 MPa (670 ksi) and 85.5 GPa (12.4 x 10° psi. The technology developed using glass fiber-reinforced ‘resin matrix composites resulted in many high performance applica- tions, and was the start of the effort to develop, stronger and stiffer fibers to meet high perfor- mance structural needs in commercial and military aerospace applications. Figure 1.3 shows the installation of a large commercial fiberglass composite pipe. Closely related to the E-and S-glasses are the high silica and quartz fibers produced commer- cially for highly specialized applications in rocket motors and electrical windows. High sil ica fibers are produced by chemically leaching the highly soluble components from E-glass fibers and then consolidating the fibers by a heat treatment. These fibers contain upwards of 95% silica Quartz fibers are drawn from mineral quartz rods using oxy-hydrogen or laser heat- ing sources. Commerciaily available fibers are 99.95% silica. Quartz fibers typically haveCarbonjgraphite fibers 25 Fig. 1.3 Underwater installation of a large fiberglass composite pipe. similar mechanical properties as the E-glass ‘materials but have a much higher melting point. 13 CARBON/GRAPHITE FIBERS. The search for advanced fibers led to the development of carbon and graphite fibers. These fibers are currently the best known and most widely utilized in high performance resin base composites. Primarily developed for military aerospace applications, these materials have found wide-spread commer- cial and industrial applications. This situation has resulted in the availability of a wide vari- ety of fibers having various levels of engineering properties at costs once thought unachievable. These materials are now avail- able on a world wide basis at competitive prices and are now experiencing increasing levels of interest for applications such as com ‘mercial aerospace, ground transportation and the infrastructure. The production of carbon/ graphite fibers is well suited to large scale continuous operation where economies of scale operate effectively and the stability of operating conditions pro- vides a narrow band of fiber mechanical properties. Carbon fibers are produced com- mercially by the thermal decomposition of organic precursor fibers such as rayon or poly- acrylonitrile (PAN). The process, shown in Fig. 1.4, involves highly controlled steps including heat treatment and tension, to trans- form the organic precursor into a highly ordered carbon or graphitic structure. Carbon and graphite fibers are also produced from pitch base precursor materials. Although the potential for low cost exists, complex process- ing steps involved in the pitch treatment have prevented the production of really low cost fibers. US manufactured pitch base carbon and graphite fibers while having a very high mod- ulus, up to 830GPa (120 x 10° psi), have Fig. 14 Conceptualized production process for car- ‘bon fiber manufacture.26 Overview of composite materials demonstrated low tensile properties and thus have not been seriously considered for high performance structural applications. ‘Advances in PAN precursor carbon fiber technology have resulted in cost reductions and properties increases which have improved the status of these materials in high perfor- mance structural applications. PAN base carbon fibers are now commercially available having modulus values of 280-450 GPa (40-65 x10" psi) and tensile strengths of 4140-5170 MPa (600-750 ksi) and some versions up to 6890 MPa (1000 ksi) in tensile strength. High fiber elongation has long been considered a very desirable trait. Elongations of 2% and above are highly desirable and provide tough- ness in the composite that low elongation fibers (<1.8%) cannot provide. Since high strain fibers must be coupled with a tough matrix resin the availability of these fibers has stimulated the introduction of new formula- tions of high elongation resin matrix materials. In many instances in aerospace applications, compression is the design controlling factor. The new high strength, high modulus carbon fibers have smaller diameters thus requiring, higher levels of support from the resin under compression loading. Thus, the limiting factor becomes resin shear modulus and the newer fibers have not resulted in increased levels of compression strength in the composite. 1.4 ORGANIC FIBERS 14.1 ARAMID Aramid is a generic term for the class of aro- matic-polyamide fibers produced using para-phenylene terephthalamide. These mate- rials were introduced by E.l. DuPont de Nemours & Co, Inc. in the 1960s. Competing fibers are now produced in Europe and Asia Although organic polymer fibers can be pro- duced that have fiber tensile strength and modulus values approaching the mid-range carbon fibers, low fiber compression capabili- ties have limited organic fiber composites applications in high performance structural applications. The high tensile strength and low density of aramid fibers allowed applications in filament wound pressure vessels and rocket motor cases replacing S-glass. Combined with its lower density and high levels of properties, very lightweight structures resulted. Aramid. fibers are highly damage- and cut-resistant and provide high levels of damage tolerance to composite components. Other applications involved aramid usage in lightly loaded sec- ondary structures on commercial aircraft and helicopters, reducing structural weight com- pared to glass composites. Issues in the use of these fibers have involved moisture absorp- tion by the fiber, relatively low adhesion to most resin matrix materials, low compression properties and difficult machining compared to other composites. 1.42 OTHER ORGANIC FIBERS Continuing research into the various other rigid rod molecule fiber forming polymers including the spinning of polyethylene fibers by Allied Chemical Co. and others has resulted in high performance organic fibers that are finding specialized and general com- mercial applications. Spectra fiber, a high performance product spun from polyethylene offers high abrasion resistance, high strength, and high modulus at a very low density. This material has found use in combat equipment for both ground troops and aviators Recreational uses of this material include ship sails and lines. Applications of Spectra are lim- ited to temperatures of about 120°C (250°F) due to its low crystallite melting point. 1.4.3 PBO AND PBT FIBERS. High modulus high strength organic fibers have been prepared by the Air Force Materials Laboratory from the rigid rod molecules of poly (p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) (PBO) and poly (p-phenylene benzobisthiazole)(PBT). These rigid rod polymers yield high modulus fibers due to their high degree of aromaticity, high planarity, and linearity in the chain. These polymers in general are diffi- cult to process into fiber due to their infusability and insolubility in anything except the most powerful organic solvents such as methanesulfonic acid or concentrated phosphoric acid. ‘The high axial molecular orientation which leads to extreme anisotropy of mechanical properties is a distinctive feature of rigid rod molecule fibers. While tensile strength and ‘modulus may in some instances be competitive with carbon fibers the transverse properties of the fiber are less than 20% of the axial proper- ties. In tension the axial characteristics dominate and excellent properties are achieved. In compression and flexure the low transverse properties result in low mechanical properties in composites of PBO and PBT fibers. High modulus organic fibers have not found serious applications in structural com- posites due to their poor compressive performance and relatively high cost. 1.5 BORON FIBERS Boron fiber in organic resin matrices was ini- tially developed by the Air Force Materials Laboratory in the early 1960s and became the first high performance reinforcement for use in structural composite materials. Early appli- cation of these fibers was found on the US Air Force F-15 and the US Navy F-14 fighter air- craft. Boron composites in honeycomb structure were utilized in the empennage structure of these aircraft. Subsequent studies have found that carbon-epoxy composites could be utilized in these aircraft to reduce costs of the composite structure. Considering the enormous changeover costs involved in such a project and the limited production quantities of these aircraft remaining to be produced it has been determined that return on investment costs would not be achieved. In spite of the advances made in carbon fiber Other inorganic fibers 27 technology, carbon-epoxy composites still cannot compare in compression properties to those of boron-epoxy. Boron-epoxy composites have been used in the sporting goods industry and boron fibers have been used in metal matrix composites (MMC) because of their excellent mechanical properties, thermal stability, and reduced reac- tivity with the matrix (compared to carbon fibers). In order to prevent reaction between the boron fiber and the molten metal matrix during MMC production, boron fibers were, until recently, available with silicon carbide or boron carbide coatings that acted as diffusion barriers. Boron fibers with these coatings are no longer commercially available because sili- con carbide fibers are now replacing boron in metal matrix composites Boron fibers are produced as a rather large monofilament fiber or ‘wire’ (100-200 um or 4-8 mils) by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of boron onto a tungsten or pyrolyzed carbon substrate. The resulting fibers have excellent strength (3450 MPa or 500 ksi) and stiffness (400 GPa or 58 x 10° psi)). However, because both the precursor gases and the manufactur- ing process are inherently expensive, boron fibers cannot compete with carbon fibers on the basis of cost. 1.6 OTHER INORGANIC FIBERS Continuous filament forms of other inorganic fibers are also now commercially available. Silicon carbide (SiC) fiber is produced from CVD of SiC by a method similar to that used in boron fiber production. SiC fibers are also pro- duced from an organic borosilane precursor that is spun and pyrolyzed to produce silicon carbide. Aluminum oxide fibers are produced in both the mono and polycrystalline forms. ‘Advanced forms of ceramic fibers are now under intensive development for use in metal matrix composites for high temperature tur- bine engine applications.28 Overview of composite materials 1.7 MATRICES As stated above, the purpose of the composite matrix is to bind the fibers together by virtue of its cohesive and adhesive characteristics, to transfer load to and between fibers, and to pro- tect them from environments and handling. In continuous multifilament composites the fiber dominated properties form the basis for useful engineering properties of the material. In such composites the matrix material is sub- jected to high levels of strain magnification caused by the close proximity of the fiber and fiber bundles and becomes subject to failure by cracking, Thus the matrix is the ‘weak link’ in the composite, especially because resins do not presently exist that allow utilization of the stresses that the fibers are able to withstand. Thus, when the composite is under load, resins may microcrack and craze, form larger cracks through coalescence of microcracks, debond from the fiber surface, and generally break down at composite strains far lower than desired Thermoplastic and toughened thermoset- ting matrices have been developed that allow increased composite strain levels but still do not provide for full fiber property translation. Nevertheless, the matrix resin provides many essential functions; in addition to those mentioned above, the matrix keeps the rein- forcing fibers in the proper orientation and position so that they can carry the intended loads, distributes the loads more or less evenly among the fibers, provides resistance to crack propagation and damage, and pro- vides all of the interlaminar shear strength of the composite, Furthermore, the matrix gener- ally determines the overall service temperature limitations of the composite, and. may also control its environmental resistance. Polyester and vinyl ester resins are the most, widely used of all matrix materials. They are utilized mainly in commercial, industrial, and transportation applications, including chemi- cally resistant piping and reactors, truck cabs and bodies, appliances, bathtubs and showers and automobile hoods, decks, and doors. The very large number of resin formula tions, curing agents, fillers, and other components provide a tremendous range of possible properties. The resulting resin systems include such types as general purpose, chemi- cally resistant and heat resistant, with general-purpose polyester and vinyl ester resin composites being the most widely used by far. The development of highly effective silane coupling agents for glass fibers allowed the fabrication of glass fiber reinforced polyester and vinyl ester composites having excellent mechanical properties and acceptable environmental durability. These enhanced characteristics have been the major factors in the widespread use of these composites today. The problems of attaining adequate adhe- sion to carbon and aramid fibers have discouraged the development of applications for polyester or vinyl ester composites that use these fibers. Although there are applications of high performance fiberglass composites in military and aerospace structures, the rela- tively poor properties of advanced composites of polyester and vinyl ester resins when used with other fibers, combined with the compar- atively large cure shrinkage of these resins, have generally restricted such composites to lower-performance applications. 1.8 EPOXY RESINS Epoxy resin R&D has provided a rich and high performing family of resin materials that have found extensive commercial and aerospace applications. Epoxy resins have demonstrated a tendency to absorb moisture both in the green or uncured and the cured stages. This property poses engineering limitations and resulted in the development of the cyanate, bismaleimide, and thermoplastic materials to be covered later in this introduction. Although epoxies are sensitive to moisture they are generally superior to polyesters in resisting other environmental influences, andoffer better mechanical properties. Even though the elongation to failure of most cured epoxies is relatively low, epoxies provide an attractive combination of handling characteristics, pro- cessing flexibility, composite mechanical properties, ease of manufacture, and acceptable cost. Recent developments include modified epoxy resin formulations that have improved elongation capabilities. In addition, a substan- tial data base exists for epoxy resins since both the US Air Force and the US Navy have been flying aircraft with epoxy matrix structural components since 1972, and the in-service expe- rience with these components has been very satisfactory. Figures. 1.5 and 1.6 show epoxy ‘composite applications on the AV-8B horizontal stabilizer and forward fuselage. ‘TORQUE BOX UPPER SKIN ‘ALUMINUM LE t Cyanate resins 29 No degradation of the composite materials has been observed even after over 20 years of service exposure. The moisture absorption of epoxy resins causes a decrease in the glass tran- sition temperature (T,) of the material and limits (for conservative engineering practice) epoxy resins to use at temperatures not exceed- ing the wet T, of the cured material. While this use limitation is conservative, its imposition has generally avoided unwanted service experience problems. Figure 1.7 shows the range of com- posite applications on the C-5 cargo aircraft. 1.9 CYANATE RESINS The more recent commercial availability of cyanate resins from a number of commercial ME Graphite’ Epoxy Tape {SEE Grovite/Epony Cloth MEE Alumna ou a sy eeioorte sienee — a ee TORQUE BOX LOWER SKIN WITH INTEGRAL SPARS Fig. 15 Application of epoxy composites to the horizontal stabilizer of the AV-8B aircraft.30. Overview of composite materials Fig. 1.6 Application of epoxy composites to the forward fuselage of the AV-8B aircraft. sources has provided a matrix material gener- ally tougher and far more moisture resistant compared to epoxies. Thus they possess better electrical characteristics and are not subjected to the so called hot/wet T, service temperature reduction. The lack of a data base and manufac turing experience base tend to inhibit the introduction of the cyanate materials into new systems. 1.10 BISMALEIMIDE RESINS BMIs have a very competitive set of features including; toughness, moisture resistance, ease of handling and manufacture and good engineering properties. They are superior to epoxies in maximum hot/wet use tempera- ture, ex the safe in-service temperature to 205-220°C (400-430°F) or higher. They are available from a number of suppliers. The BMI materials have been selected for structural applications on the US Air Force F-22 fighter in combination with carbon fiber reinforcements. 1.11 OTHER THERMOSETTING RESINS Polyimide resins including the PMR (Polymerization of Monomeric Reactants) and acetylene terminated versions are available and possess service temperature capabilities, in air, close to 260°C (50°F). Applications inNonstructural parts, liners, troop seats Fig, 1.7 Composite applications on the C-5 cargo aircraft; total weight of composites: 7167 kg ‘weight saving: 1997 kg (4398 Ib). military turbine engine casings (liners) and electronics form the major present day appli- cations for these materials. Lack of toughness and difficulty in handling and in manufacture characterize this family of heat resistant ‘organic matrix materials. 1.12 THERMOPLASTIC RESINS The families of amorphous and semicrys- talline thermoplastic materials have been thoroughly evaluated for use as matrix resins. Thermoplastic matrix materials are generally tougher than most thermoset resins and offer the potential of improved hot/wet resistance. Because of their high strains to failure, they also are the only matrices currently available that allow thermoforming and other forms of rapid manufacture to be utilized. ‘The thermoplastic resin materials include polyether ether ketone (PEEK), polyphenylene Thermoplastic resins 31 HE CarbonEpoxy MME CarbonKeviar/Epoxy IE GFRPINomex core HE Keviaritoam core MM KeviarNomex 2) CarborNomex 87 Ib); sulfide (PPS), polyether ketone ketone (PEKK) and several others. Most thermoplastic matri- ces do not absorb any significant amount of water, but organic solvent resistance is an area of concern for the noncrystalline thermoplas- tics. Because thermoplastic matrices have an unlimited shelf life before molding (unlike thermosetting matrices), and because they can potentially be remolded by the application of heat and pressure, thermoplastic matrix com- posites also offer the possibility of lower-cost fabrication. However, cross-linking or thermal degradation with repeated temperature cycling is a concern with most of the systems, The fabrication procedures necessary for the low-cost manufacture of thermoplastic matrix composites have been extensively studied, including effort to determine and understand the mechanical properties obtained from the various techniques currently available for fab- ricating thermoplastic matrix composites.32 Overview of composite materials ‘Thermoplastic composites are deemed to be a mature technology and will compete with ‘other composites on a properties and cost basis. 1.13 DESIGN PHILOSOPHY ‘The design of a high performance composite structural component should be based upon a thorough understanding of the service condi- tions to be encountered. The ‘building block’ approach has been found successful in the design of both aircraft and spacecraft structural components. A comprehensive properties data base is required for this process. The database is obtained by a thorough program of coupon, subelement and element fabrication test and failure analysis. The building block program must account for properties in the as-manufac- tured article including variables induced by worker skill levels, tooling and suppliers, etc. ‘An example of combining these diverse build- ing blocks was the rapid design and manufacture of the all composite Voyager air- craft (Fig. 1.8) that successfully circumnavi- gated the earth non-stop. 1.14 MATERIAL FORMS Reinforcing fibers are commercially available in many product forms including monofila- ments for fibers such as boron on silicon carbide to. multifilament fiber bundles. Product forms include unidirectional ribbons and broadgoods up to 152 cm (60 ins) wide to single and multiple layer fabrics and mats that may or may not be stitched in the Z direction. ‘These same forms are available combined with the matrix resin of choice for a particular com- ponent. Using prepregs rather than in-line impregnation of the fibers during the final composite fabrication process can offer signif- icant advantages. Prepregs can have very precisely controlled fiber/resin ratios, highly controlled tack and drape (in the case of ther- moset matrices), controlled resin flow during the cure process, and, in some processes, better control of fiber angle and placement. Prepreg Fig. 18 All composite Voyager aircraft.materials can be produced and stored for future use, normally under refrigeration for thermosetting matrices, and then used in processes ranging from hand lay-up to highly automated filament winding or machine tape laying. Processes such as pultrusion and braiding can also use prepreg forms instead of in-line resin impregnation. While the latter may be lower in initial cost, it may be prohibi- tive for some resin systems (such as thermoplastics), and parameters such as fiber/resin ratio may not be as easily con- trolled as is the case with a prepreg. 1.15 MANUFACTURING/FABRICATION The most common composite lay-up processes include: hand lay-up, fiber placement and machine tape lay-up. In lay-up, material that is usually in prepreg form is cut and laid up, layer by layer, to produce a laminate of the desired thickness, number of plies, and ply orientations. In filament winding, a fiber bun- dle or ribbon is impregnated with resin and wound upon a mandrel to produce a simple shape, such as a tube or pressure vessel, or a more complex shape, such as a wind turbine or helicopter rotor blade. Hand lay-up processes are usually accom- panied by a compaction step for each one or more plies that are applied. Lay-up of thermo- plastic matrix material is always accompanied by heat and pressure. For most components produced for aero- space applications, except filament wound components, the autoclave is the curing tool of choice. The autoclave cure process is chosen for many reasons, these include: reproducible, high quality, low void content, parts at reason- able production rates and costs. There are also a number of other fabrication processes that are used including pultrusion, resin transfer molding and press curing. These processes have found application in’ the fabrication of various components for aerospace usage. Very sophisticated, numerically controlled equipment is presently available for the lay-up Further reading 33 process. High prepreg lay-down rates and fairly low scrap rates are possible. However, most of the existing automatic lay-up processes are quite limited in their ability to produce satisfactory components having com- plex curvatures. This is more an artifact of the tape raw material than it is an equipment lim- itation. To select the best composite fabrication process, the designer generally chooses the process that will provide an acceptable quality component for the lowest cost. In evaluating cost and quality, however, tooling cost, pro- duction rate, materials cost, desired part finish and many other factors must be considered. Only after all the relevant factors have been weighed can the fabrication method (or the material) be selected, This overview chapter was intended as a primer to introduce the reader to composite technology. Fiber and matrix materials, design concerns, material forms and fabrication processes have been described briefly. For more specific and detailed data and guidelines on these topics, the reader should consult the technical sections in this volume. However, this introduction should have clarified that composites offer tremendous opportunities as well as impressive challenges ~ for the designer and manufacturer of high perfor- mance components. FURTHER READING 1. Weeton, J.W. and Peters, D.M., eds, Engineers’ Guide to Composite Materials, American Society for Materials, 1987. 2. SPI Composites Institute, Introduction to Composites, SPI, Washington, 1992. 3. Beukers, A. and de Jon, Th., Materials Delft University Press, Delft, Netherlands, 1992 4. Corish, PJ., ed, Concise Encyclopedia of Polymer Processing and Applications, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1992, Schwartz, M, 2nd edn, MeG ed Composite Materials Handbook Sraw-Hill, New York, 1992.