COMPOSITE MATERIALS - CONCRETE

Concrete is a versatile and cheap material, with a vast range of applications around the home.
Brick laying, constructing paths and driveways, foundations to buildings and walls, are some of
the practical applications. Concrete has a similarly wide and varied range in industrial
applications. Theses include; bridge construction, motorways, curbs, walkways and foundations
to entire factories and industrial sites.

Concrete is composed of a number of materials, that combine to form this versatile building
material. Most concrete is made up of Portland Cement, aggregates (gravel, crushed stones) and
sand. Water is added to the mix.
Concrete is the most common artificial composite material of all and typically consists of
loose stones (aggregate) held with a matrix of cement. Concrete is an inexpensive material,
and will not compress or shatter even under quite a large compressive force.[8] However,
concrete cannot survive tensile loading[9](i.e., if stretched it will quickly break apart).
Therefore, to give concrete the ability to resist being stretched, steel bars, which can resist
high stretching forces, are often added to concrete to form reinforced concrete.

Concrete is a mixture of cement and aggregate, giving a robust, strong material that is very widely
used.

COMPOSITE MATERIALS - 
STEEL REINFORCED CONCRETE
Concrete is weak when put under tension. If reinforced with steel rods, it is
can withstand tensile forces.

Reinforced concrete has long steel rods passing through its length, adding
great strength to the final composite material. Able to resist tensile forces.

Used for bridge building, skyscrapers and general large-scale construction.

Composites
Composite materials are made from two or more different types of material. For example, MDF
is made from wood fibres and glue, and fibreglass is made from a mesh of glass fibres set in a
tough polymer.

The materials for a composite material are chosen because they have different properties that
combine to make a more useful material. Steel-reinforced concrete is a composite material. It is
made by pouring concrete around a mesh of steel cables. When the concrete sets, the material is:

 strong when stretched (because of the steel)

 strong when squashed (because of the concrete)
A composite is something like concrete, where stones of
various sizes are dotted in between cement. Reinforced
concrete is also a composite made from steel reinforcing
bars placed inside wet concrete—which makes it, in
effect, a composite of a composite. Fiberglass is a
composite of tiny glass shards glued inside plastic. In
concrete, reinforced concrete, and fiberglass, the original
ingredients are still easy to spot in the final material. So
in concrete, you can clearly see the stones in the cement
—they don't disappear or dissolve.
How are composites made?

Composites are generally made of two main materials (though

there may be other additives as well): there's a "background"
material called a matrix (or matrix phase) and, to this, we add
a transforming material called the reinforcement (or
reinforcing phase). Although we tend to think of the
reinforcement as being made up of fibers (as in fiberglass),
that's not always the case. In reinforced concrete, the "fibers"
are large-scale, twisted steel rods; in fiberglass, they're tiny
whiskers of glass. Sometimes the reinforcement is made of
granules, particulates, or whiskers, but it can also be made of
folded textiles.

Examples of Composites

The most common example of a "composite" in a broad sense is concrete.

In this use, structural steel rebar provides the strength and stiffness to the concrete, while the
cured cement holds the rebar stationary. Rebar alone would flex too much and cement alone
would crack easily. However, when combined to form a composite, an extremely rigid material
is created.

The composite material most commonly associated with the term "composite" is Fiber
Reinforced Plastics.

This type of composite is used extensively throughout our daily lives. Common everyday uses of
fiber reinforced plastic composites include:

Aircraft
 Boats and marine

Sporting equipment(Golf shafts, tennis rackets, surfboards, hockey sticks, etc.)

Automotive components

Wind turbine blades

Body armor

Building materials

Water pipes

Bridges

Tool handles

Ladder rails

Benefits of Composites

In comparison to common materials used today such as metal and wood, composites can
provide a distinct advantage. The primary driver and advantage in the adoption of composites
are the lightweight properties. In transportation, less weight equates to more fuel savings and
improved acceleration. In sporting equipment, lightweight composites allow for longer drives in
golf, faster swings in tennis, and straighter shots in archery. While in wind energy, the less a
blade weighs, the more power the turbine can produce. Besides weight savings, the most
important benefits of composites include:

Non-corrosive

Non-conductive

Flexible, will not dent

Low maintenance

Long life

Design flexibility

WHAT IS A COMPOSITE?
A composite material is composed of at least two materials, which combine to give properties
superior to those of the individual constituents.
For our website we refer to fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites, usually with carbon, glass,
aramid, polymer or natural fibres embedded in a polymer matrix. Other matrix materials can be used
and composites may also contain fillers or nano-materials such as graphene.
The many component materials and different processes that can be used make composites
extremely versatile and efficient. They typically result in lighter, stronger, more durable solutions
compared to traditional materials.

WHY USE COMPOSITES?

The primary reason composite materials are chosen for
components is because of weight saving for its relative stiffness
and strength. For example, carbon-fibre reinforced composite
can be five times stronger than 1020 grade steel while having only one fifth of the weight. Aluminium
(6061 grade) is much nearer in weight to carbon-fibre composite, though still somewhat heavier, but
the composite can have twice the modulus and up to seven times the strength.

GROWTH IN THE COMPOSITES INDUSTRY

The composites industry is an exciting industry to work in because new materials, processes and
applications are being developed all the time – like using hybrid virgin and recycled fibres, faster and
more automated manufacturing. The global composites materials market is growing at about 5% per
year, with carbon fibre demand growing at 12% per year.
With around 1500 British companies involved, the UK composites product market was estimated at
£2.3bn in 2015, and could grow to £12bn by 2030 (Reference: The 2016 UK Composites Strategy)

WHEN SHOULD YOU USE COMPOSITES?

As with all engineering materials, composites have particular strengths and weaknesses, which
should be considered at the specifying stage. Composites are by no means the right material for
every job.
However, a major driving force behind the development of composites has been that the
combination of the reinforcement and the matrix can be changed to meet the required final
properties of a component. For example, if the final component needs to be fire-resistant, a fire-
retardant matrix can be used in the development stage so that it has this property.
Weight reduction

 The primary reason composites are chosen is improved specific strength / stiffness
(strength / stiffness specific per unit weight).
 This helps to reduce fuel use, or increase acceleration or range in transport.
 It allows for easier, faster installation or faster movement of robot arms and reduces
supporting structures or foundations.
 It improves topside stability in vessels and offshore structures and buoyancy for deep sea
applications.

Durability and maintenance

 Composites don’t rust, which is crucial, especially in marine and chemical environments. The
need for maintenance and painting is reduced or eliminated.
 Composite bearings for marine engines and bridges need no lubrication and don’t corrode.
 Combine the excellent fatigue resistance, and composites can increase product lifespan by
several times in many applications.

Added functionality

 Composites are thermal insulators which is good for fire and blast protection or cryogenic
applications.
 Electrical insulation is useful for railway lineside structures and radar transparency. A
conductive mesh or coating can be integrated if needed, e.g. to reflect radar or divert
lightning.
 Sensors, electronics and cabling can be embedded.

Design freedom

 Composites design allows for freedom of architectural form.

 Many parts can be consolidated into one, and stiffeners, inserts, etc. can be integrated in-
mould.
 Composites can be tailored to suit the application by choosing the constituent materials and
embedding extra functionality.