LECTURE NOTES

ON

COMPOSITE FABRICATION AND MACHINING

IV B. Tech II Semester (IARE-R16)

2020 - 2021

Prepared By:
Mr. R Sabari Vihar, Assistant Professor

AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING
INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICAL E NGINEERING
(AUTONOMOUS)
Dundigal, Hyderabad – 500043
Course Outcomes Mapped to Module I:
Students will be able to:
Blooms
CO Course Outcomes
taxonomy
CO 1 Compare the characteristic features of conventional metals and Understand
composites for understanding the general advantage and
disadvantages associate with composites over conventional metals.

CO 2 Outline the primary physical differences and performance Understand

differences between thermoplastics and thermoset plastics for
making better decisions in material selection and improve the
product designs.

Program Outcomes Mapped to Module I:

Program Outcomes
PO 1 Engineering knowledge: Apply the knowledge of mathematics, science, engineering
fundamentals, and anengineering specialization to the solution of complex engineering
problems.
PO 2 Problem analysis: Identify, formulate, review research literature, and analyze complex
engineering problems reaching substantiated conclusions using first principles of
mathematics, natural sciences, and engineering
sciences

Mapping of CO(s) With PO(s) for Module I:

Course Program Outcomes

Outcomes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

CO 1 √ √

CO 2 √ √
 UNIT-I
INTRODUCTION
Materials have always splayed a major role in the development and growth of human civilization.
Composite materials are no exception. The advent of advanced composites has influenced almost every
aspect of modern life and today, major impacts are felt in aerospace and aviation sector, automobile
industry, sports goods industry, naval applications, civil engineering, etc.
Composites have their own unique features. There are advantages as well as disadvantages. While
exceptionally high mechanical and thermal properties can be achieved in a composite material, translation
of such high levels of material properties to composite structures is equally important and highly
challenging. Basic material science, process engineering, and design and analysis of composite materials
and structures are inherently related.

HISTORYOFCOMPOSITES:
The use of composite materials can be traced back to 2000 Bc or even earlier. Straw-reinforced mud
bricks were used in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Straws were also used for making reinforced pottery.
Composite bows were used in ancient Mongolia and other places across Asia. Evidence exists on the use
of composites in ancient Japan, where laminated metals were used by the Samurais to make swords.
The development of modern advanced composites has been greatly influenced by the developments
in the fields of raw materials, viz. Reinforcements and resins, and composites manufacturing processes
Glass fiber was first commercially produced in the 1930s. Around the same time, unsaturated
polyesterresins were also developed and commercialized. The first glass fiber-reinforced plastic (GFRP)
boats and radomes were built in the early 1940s. Rapid progress took place in the 1950s with increasing
use of GFRP in boat hulls, car bodies, electrical components, etc. GFRP products were the first advanced
composite products, and they still constitute a very large proportion of today’s composites’ market. The
next phase of development of composites was marked by the development of high-performance
composites using carbon, boron, and aramid fibers. High- performance carbon fibers and boron
fiberswere introduced around the same time in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They were followed by the
development of aramid fibers in the early 1970s. Epoxy resins have been available since the 1930s, and
with the advent of these high-performance fibers, composites industry received a major boost.
Development in the composites industry was also pushed hard by demands from aerospace and defense
sectors for lighter and more efficient structures. Further, technological developments in respect of
processing equipment and machinery such as filament winding machine, computer numerical controls,
autoclave, etc. have been some of the major features of the growth of composites.

CHARACTERISTICSOFCOMPOSITEMATERIALS

Definition: Broadly, four types of materials are used for making a structural element. These are metals,
polymers, ceramics, and composites. In a general sense, a composite material is one that has two or more
constituent materials in it. The constituent materials in a composite material are metals, polymers,
ceramics, or a combination of these three. A definition of composites can be found by identifying the
characteristics of the constituents and the process of combining them. We check the follows:

■ The constituent materials differ in composition and form. Their combination results in two phases in a
composite material: reinforcement—a discontinuous phase, which is usually hard and strong, and
matrix—a continuous phase, which binds the reinforcements together.
■ There in forcing material is embedded in the matrix material at a macroscopic level. Thus, the
constituent materials do not dissolve or merge together and they retain their individual properties.
■ The matrix binds the reinforcements in such away as to form a distinct inter-phase between them.
■ The reinforcements and the matrix, as individual materials, may not be of any engineering use; it is the
process of combining them that transforms them into a new material, which is a useful and efficient
one. The interphase helps the reinforcement and the matrix act in unison and the resultant composite
material often exhibits better properties than the constituent materials.
■ Thus, keeping the above points in mind, we can arrive at a definition as the following: A composite
material is a useful and efficient material system that is made by macroscopically combining two
constituents—a reinforcement and a matrix, in such a way that the constituents do not dissolve or
merge together and retain their individual properties, yet they act in unison to exhibit better
engineering properties.

Classification:

Composites can be classified primarily in two ways. As mentioned earlier, there are four broad types of
structural materials, of which any one of the first three, namely, metals, polymers, and ceramics, can be
used as the matrix for making a composite material. Thus, the first way to classify a composite material is
based on the type of matrix material. From this angle, composite materials are classified into:
■ Polymer matrix composites (PMCs)

■ Metal matrix composites (MMCs)

■ Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs)

■ Carbon/carbon composites (C/Ccomposites)

Polymer Matrix Composites

PMCs have been a subject of great interest for basic as well as applied research. They possess several
advantages over monolithic metals and today, products of wide variety, in terms of shape and size, are
efficiently designed, fabricated and used. In a PMC material, a polymer such as epoxy is used as the
matrix material that is rein- forced with very fine diameter fibers such as carbon, glass, etc. There
inforcing fibers can be either continuous or discontinuous. Continuous fibers can be used in forms such as
strands, roving, fabric, etc. Discontinuous fibers can be particulate, whiskers, or flakes.
Mechanical properties such as strength and stiffness of PMCs are directly dependent on the
reinforcement properties. Matrix, on the other hand, binds the reinforcements together and helps in load
transfer. Thus, in general, the principal philosophy in designing a composite part is to orient the
reinforcements in the direction of load so that the composite properties are efficiently exploited. Of
course, manufacturing constraints need to be given due consideration.
The processing techniques in composites are a critical part in the study of PMCs. Several processing
techniques are available for the manufacture of structural elements using PMCs. A common objective in
all these processing techniques is to place the reinforcements as per design requirement and wet them
properly with the matrix. An essential step is to cure the composite, during which the matrix solidifies
through a process of cross-linking and it binds the reinforcements.
PMCs play a dominant role in the overall market for composites, including MMCs, CMCs, and C/C
composites. MMCs, CMCs, and C/C composites are introduced in this chapter. However, our emphasis in
this book would be on PMCs. Thus, unless otherwise specifically stated, composites in the remainder of
this book would mean PMCs.
Metal Matrix Composites

In an MMC material, a metal or an alloy is the continuous phase in which the reinforcements are
embedded. Addition of reinforcements in a monolithic metal greatly improves its mechanical and other
properties to suit specific design requirements. MMCs have certain advantages over PMCs as well as
monolithic metals. These advantages include high transverse strength and modulus, high shear strength
and modulus, high service temperature, low thermal expansion, very low moisture absorption, dimensional
stability, high electrical and thermal conductivities, better fatigue and damage resistance, ease of joining
and resistance to most radiations including ultraviolet (UV) radiation, etc. These benefits have been made
use of and MMCs have found many applications in several sectors.

Ceramic Matrix Composites

CMCs are a class of structural materials in which either continuous or discontinuous reinforcements are
embedded in a monolithic ceramic material. Ceramics, as a class of materials by themselves,
characteristically have very high temperature resistance but low fracture toughness. Low fracture
toughness makes ceramics susceptible to catastrophic failure under tensile or impact loads. In CMCs,
fracture properties are improved. Other advantages of CMCs include low density, chemical inertness,
hardness, and high strength. Thus, these materials are suitable for applications where high mechanical
properties are desired at high service temperatures.

Carbon/Carbon Composites

In C/C composites, carbon fiber reinforcements are embedded in a carbon matrix. Carbon by itself is
brittle and sensitive to material defects. By reinforcing carbon with carbon fibers, the properties are
greatly improved. C/C composites are typically very highly temperature resistant. They retain high tensile
and compressive strengths and high fatigue strength at high temperatures, and they are used in several
aerospace and other high-end applications such as brake disks for aircrafts, nose cone of reentry vehicles,
nozzle throat,etc.C/Ccomposites,however,involvelongandcomplexprocessingcycle.
We had mentioned earlier that the reinforcements form a discontinuous phase. Different shapes and sizes
of reinforcements can be used and the final composite structural forms can be different. Thus, based on
the geometry and shape of the reinforcements and the structural form of the composites, the following
classification of composites is possible
■ Phased composites
– Particulate composites
– Short fiber composites
– Flake composites
– Unidirectional composites
■ Layered composites
– Laminated composites
– Sandwich composites

FIGURE1: Types of composites based on shape of reinforcements and form of composites. (a)
Phased composites. (b) Layered composites.

Particulate Composites

In a particulate composite material, reinforcing particles are added in a continuous matrix. A particle isan
object such that no dimension is more than about five times the other two dimensions. The particlesare
added at random and due to the random orientation of the particles, particulate composites areisotropic in
nature. Both metallic and nonmetallic particles are used as reinforcements in particulate composites.
Table 1 lists common particulate reinforcements. These particles can be combined with either metallic
matrix or nonmetallic matrix materials and thus we have the following four possible combinations in a
particulate composite material:

■ Metal particles in metal matrix

■ Metal particles in non-metal matrix
■ Non-metal particles in metal matrix
■ Non-metal particles in non-metal matrix

Particulate composites possess several advantages such as improved strength, stiffness, and toughness
compared to the unreinforced metal or ceramic material. They also possess typically higher operating
temperatures and in certain cases, specific beneficial properties are infused into the matrix by adding
particulate reinforcements. Further, their processing is cheap and simple. However, they exhibit generally
inferior mechanical properties as compared to the other types of composites.

Short Fiber Composites:

In short fiber composites, either short fibers or whiskers are added in a continuous matrix. The
reinforcements are discontinuous and they are mixed in the matrix at random. The fibers have highly
direction-dependent properties and thus these composites are anisotropic. However, owing to the random
orientation of the fibers/whiskers, these composites depict isotropic behavior at a product level.

Flake Composites

Unlike fibers, flakes have a two-dimensional (2D) structure—strength and stiffness properties are highin
two directions. Two types of flake composites are used. In the first type of flake composites, nonmetallic
flakes such as mica or glass are embedded, usually parallel to one another, in a matrix material. The
resulting composite material exhibits highly direction-dependent behavior. In the second type of flake
composites, preimpregnated fabric cut pieces are randomly mixed. Although the fabric cut pieces are 2D
with direction-dependent properties, due to the random orientation, the resulting composite part is isotropic.

Unidirectional Composites
These are composites with long continuous reinforcements. Strength and stiffness properties of these
composites are very high in the direction of the reinforcements but poor in the other two directions.

3DComposites
Three-dimensional (3D) composites are a special variety of composites that are rein- forced with long
continuous reinforcements oriented in all the three dimensions. Most frequently, these composites are made
from preforms of oriented fibers in to which the resin matrix is injected and cured.

Laminated Composites

Laminated composites are made up of several thin plies (layers) stacked and bonded together. Different
types of laminated composites such as fiber-reinforced plastic, bimetals, laminated wood, etc. are used. In
bimetallic laminated composites, layers of two different metals of usually significantly different thermal
coefficients are bonded. In fiber-reinforced laminated composites, each ply is a plastic layer reinforced with
usually continuous fibers. The reinforcements are unidirectional, bi directional, or even multidirectional. In
certain cases, short fiber-reinforced plies are also used, in which case the fibers are normally randomly
oriented. Fiber-reinforced laminated composites are widely used, and in the remainder of this book, the
term “laminated composites” would be used to mean fiber-reinforced laminated composites.

Sandwich Composites

These are basically panels of lightweight core sandwiched between two relatively thin but hard and strong
skins. The core material may be low-density foam or honeycomb.

Characteristics and Functions of Reinforcements and Matrix:

We have learnt that the reinforcements and matrix do not react with each other, retain their individual
characteristics, act in unison, and offer better resultant composite properties. Now, we need to understand
that the reinforcements and matrix have their own characteristics and specific functions. Fibers used as
reinforcements for advanced composites are typically very fine in diameter, and their volume per unit
length is low. Thus, in the fiber form, flaws are far less than in the bulk form. Also, many fiber
manufacturing processes involve spinning and stretching operations, during which a high degree of
microstructural orientation takes place. As a result, mechanical properties such as strength and modulus of
fibrous reinforcements are very high. Thus, structural functions are performed primarily by the
reinforcements. In addition to possessing very high mechanical properties, some fibers also possess some
specific characteristics. In such cases, fibers impart specific characteristics to the composite material. For
example, carbon fibers have negative longitudinal thermal co-efficients of expansion, and carbon fiber
composites can be designed to make dimensionally stable part across a wide temperature range. Similarly,
silica fibers can be used for making thermal insulator.
In general, we can list a few key functions of fiber reinforcements as follows:

■ Reinforcements are the primary load-bearing element in a composite material.

■ Reinforcements provide stiffness to the composite material.
■ Reinforcements provide thermal stability.
■ Reinforcements provide electrical and thermal conductivity (orinsulation).

The reinforcements alone, without the matrix, are meaningless as a structural part. Matrix is inferior to
fibers in terms of mechanical properties; however, it influences a number of composite mechanical
properties such as transverse modulus and strength, shear modulus and strength, compressive strength,
fatigue characteristics, inter laminar shear strength, and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). Thematrix,
in a composite material, has several critical functions, of which the following may be noted:

■ The matrix acts as glue and holds the reinforcing fibers together, and gives shape and rigidity to the
composite material as a structural part.
■ The matrix transfers load between the reinforcing fibers.
■ The matrix provides good protection to the reinforcing fibers against chemical attack and mechanical
wear and tear.
■ The matrix provides good surface finish to the part.
■ Transverse mechanical properties of composite materials are greatly influenced by the matrix.

CompositesTerminologies

1. Isotropic material: An isotropic material is one that has equal or same material properties in all
directions at a point. In other words, material properties are not dependent on directions in an isotropic
material. Conventional metallic materials such as steel, aluminum, etc. are isotropic.
2. Anisotropic material: An anisotropic material is one that has unequal or dis- similar material properties
in different directions at a point. In other words, material properties are dependent on directions in an
anisotropic material.
3. Orthotropic material: An orthotropic material is one with material properties that are different in three
mutually perpendicular directions at a point.
We will learn that an isotropic material has infinite numbers of planes of material property symmetry,
an orthotropic material has three, and anisotropic material has none.
Composite materials are generally anisotropic. The degree of anisotropy in a composite material is highly
dependent upon the reinforcement. The matrix is typically isotropic in nature but the reinforcements may
exhibit highly directional properties. For example, carbon fibers are very strong and stiff in the longitudinal
direction. Laminated composite materials are reinforced with such reinforcements and these composites are
exceptionally strong and stiff in the direction of fibers as compared to the transverse directions. Particulate
composites, with uniform dispersion of the reinforcing particles, are isotropic. Flakes and short fibers, as
reinforcements, are highly anisotropic with high strength and stiffness in the direction of the fibers. However,
these reinforcements are generally randomly oriented in the matrix and thus, the resulting composites are
isotropic at a macrolevel.

Homogeneous material: A homogeneous material is one that has equal or same material properties in a
specified direction at all points. In other words, material properties are not dependent on location in a
homogeneous material.

z
z z
y
y y x
x x

Lamina Laminae Laminate

1. Non homogeneous material: A non-homogeneous material is one that has unequal or dissimilar
material properties in a specified direction at different points. In other words, the material properties are
dependent on location in a non homogeneous material.
Composite materials, in a strict sense, are almost always nonhomogeneous. These are multi phase materials
and the properties at a location in the matrix are mostly different from those at a location in the
reinforcements. However, at a macro level, a composite material is mostly homogeneous.
1. Lamina: A lamina (laminae in plural) is a single layer or ply in a laminated composite material. It is
the building block of a laminated composite structure. It can be either flat or curved and is made up of
unidirectional, bidirectional, multidirectional, or randomly oriented fibers in the matrixmaterial.
2. Laminate:Alaminateisalaminatedcompositestructuralelementthatismadebyanumberoflaminae.Asshown
inFigure2,typically,thereinforcementsinthe laminae are oriented w.r.t. the coordinate system of the
structural ele- ment and the laminae are stacked as percertainplys equence.
3. Micromechanics: It is the study of a composite material wherein the constituents of thecomposite
material are considered as distinct phases and their interaction with each other
isanalyzedtodeterminethegrosspropertiesofthecompos-itematerial.Thus,in micromechanics, we study the
behavior of the composite material based on micro-level properties or the properties of the constituents.
4. Macro mechanics: It is the study of a composite material wherein the constituents of the composite
material are not considered as distinct phases; rather, the gross or apparent properties of the laminae and the
interaction between laminae are analyzed to determine the laminate behavior. Thus, in macromechanics, we
study the behavior of composite material based on macro-level properties or the apparent properties of the
laminae.

ADVANTAGESANDDISADVANTAGESOF COMPOSITES

Advantages

There are several advantages associated with composite materials that make them more attractive than other
traditional materials in many applications where high performance and light weight are essential
requirements. These are briefly discussed below:

 High tensile strength and stiffness

 High specific strength and specific stiffness
 High fatigue strength
 Inherent material damping and good impact properties
 Tailorable properties

 Design flexibility
 Less corrosion
 Simple manufacturing techniques
 Near net shape part and lower part count
 Cost-effective product development
High tensile strength and stiffness: Strength and stiffness properties of monolithic polymers are generally
low compared to metals and ceramics. These properties can be greatly improved by reinforcing with
suitable reinforcements such a glass or carbon. Thus, PMCs exhibit comparable or better tensile strength
and stiffness in the direction of reinforcements than conventional metals or ceramics. Mechanical properties
of MMCs and CMCs are also higher as compared to those of their monolithic counterparts.

High specific strength and specific modulus: Specific strength and specific modulus are the ratios of
strength to density and modulus to density, respectively. Composites, on account of their low densities and
high strength and modulus, possess very high specific strengths and specific moduli. As a result, structural
parts made by using composites are typically lighter than those made from metals. In aerospace vehicles,
light weight is a key requirement that is associated with long arrange, higher payload, and fuel saving.
There are specific applications in other sectors as well where weight saving is beneficial to the overall
performance. In all these applications, composites are suitable due to their high specific strength and
stiffness.

High fatigue strength: Fatigue strength or endurance limit refers to the failure stress under cyclic loads.
Under cyclic loads, most materials fail at lower levels of stress than under static loads. Composites exhibit
higher fatigue strength than conventional metals such as steel and aluminum. Fatigue strengths of metals
are far lower compared to the respective static strengths—as low as 35% for aluminum and 50% for steel
and titanium. On the other hand, unidirectional composites exhibit high fatigue strengths of about 90% of
static strengths.

Inherent material damping and good impact properties: Composite materials, due to the presence of fiber–
matrix interface, exhibit better damping characteristics than conventional metals. A composite part, under
the action of an impact load, develops numerous micro cracks. During the process of formation of the micro
cracks, the energy of impact is absorbed, and catastrophic failure is avoided.

Tailorable properties: In a composite material, reinforcements can be aligned in the direction of principal
direction of load; plies can be stacked in a desired sequence such that material properties are utilized in the
most efficient manner. This characteristic of composites is very unique, one that allows the engineer to
design the material systemitselforvirtuallytailorthematerialpropertiesasperproductrequirement.

Design flexibility: Design flexibility is a key advantage of composite materials. Metallic parts are designed
using raw materials that are readily available in the market. These raw materials such as bar stocks, sheets,
sections, etc. are available with standard specifications; thus, in general, the designer’s final choice in
respect of the structural elements is influenced by the available raw materials. On the contrary, composite
parts are designed along with the design of the material system itself. Several classes of reinforcements
with wide range of properties are commercially available in various physical forms. Similarly, many matrix
materials with their own characteristics are available. Also, there has been extensive technological
development in the field of composite processing and many efficient processing techniques are available
today. Thus, the designer has a wide range of choices of combinations of raw materials, stacking sequence,
processing techniques, etc. that enables him to meet the end requirement in the most efficient way.

Less corrosion: Composite materials, in general, offer better corrosion resistance than metallic materials.
As a result, composite structures have longer storage life.

Simple manufacturing techniques: Manufacturing techniques available in the broad field of composites vary
widely in terms of their complexity, equipment and machinery required, cycle time, and cost. In general,
manufacturing techniques for PMCs are much simpler compared to those for MMCs, CMCs, and C/C
composites. There are many areas where the manufacture of a PMC part is simpler than a similar metallic
part. Today, a wide variety of manufacturing techniques are available for PMCs some of these techniques
do not need application of high temperature or pressure. Similarly, equipment and machinery required for
PMC manufacture need not be very expensive and complex. As a result, PMCs have grown very fast in
terms of volume as well as variety of applications.

Near net shape part and lower part count: In the case of composite materials, parts are made by adding
materials, and parts with near net shape can be manufactured. Parts with complex shapes and large sizes can
be realized, as a result of which, the number of parts in the overall assembly comes down drastically. This
feature also enables the engineer to eliminate /reduce machining operations and reduce manufacturing cycle
time.

Cost-effective product development: Composites are preferred due to their low cost as well. Different
elements of cost in the development and commercialization of a composite product include raw material
cost, equipment and machinery cost, processing cost, design and analysis cost, marketing cost, etc. Raw
material cost depends on the type of reinforcements and matrix materials—while raw materials such as
carbon fibers and high end epoxy resins are expensive, many other reinforcements and resins such as E-
glass fiber and polyester resins for commercial applications are economically priced. Similarly, simpler
manufacturing methods lead to low costs of equipment and machinery and processing. The overall cost is
also reduced due to reduced processing cost (nearnetshapepart), lower assembly cost (lower part count), and
longer storage life (less corrosion).

Disadvantages

While there is a long list of advantages associated with composites, there are certain disadvantages as well.
Special care has to be taken to overcome these limitations. They are enumerated below:
1. Low service temperature
2. Sensitivity to radiation and moisture
3. Low elastic properties in the transverse direction
4. Complex design and analysis
5. Complex mechanical characterization
6. High cost of raw materials and fabrication
7. Difficulty in jointing

Low service temperature: PMCs, in general, degrade at relatively low temperatures above room
temperature, and have low service temperature. PMCs are of two broad types—structural composites and
thermal/ ablative composites. Polymer matrix structural composites tend to lose strength and stiffness
properties as the ambient temperature increases. For high-temperature applications, these composites need
protection in the form of insulating or ablative lining. Ablative composites can withstand high
temperatures, but they are non-structural in nature.
Sensitivity to radiation and moisture: Many polymers when exposed to radiations such as UV radiation, etc.
degrade. Moisture absorption is also a problem for many PMCs. Protective coatings are applied to increase
the service life of these composite parts. In certain other cases, additives such as UV-resistant fillers, etc.
are added to the matrix to reduce degradation of the composites when exposed to harm ful radiations.

Low elastic properties in the transverse direction: Strength and stiffness of unidirectional composites in
transverse direction, that is, normal to the direction of the reinforcements, are controlled by the matrix.
Polymer matrix materials have low elastic properties. Thus, unidirectional composites are associated with
rather low strength and stiffness properties in the transverse direction. However, this drawback of
unidirectional composites is successfully overcome by tailoring of the plies and efficient fiber directional
properties in the design of the laminates.
Complex design and analysis: There are only two independent elastic constants in anisotropic material. On
the other hand, more numbers of elastic constants are required for describing an anisotropic material.
Similarly, strength parameters are also more in anisotropic materials. Composite materials are anisotropic
in nature, and thus, the number of parameters to be considered in the design and analysis of apart using
composite material is more. Fiber-reinforced composites are typically layered. While wecan consider
different combinations of ply sequences, tailor the material properties and exploit the material system, this
flexibility also increases the complexity of the design and analysis procedure.

Complex mechanical characterization: Owing to the presence of more numbers of elastic constants and
strength properties, mechanical characterization procedure, which involves laminate making, coupon
preparation, and testing, is complex and time consuming. Further, individual raw materials, viz. resin, curing
agents, and fiber, also have to be evaluated for mechanical and physical properties.

High cost of raw materials and fabrication: While some raw materials such as E-glass fiber, polyester
resin, etc. are cheap, several others such as carbon fibers, high performance epoxy resin, etc. are expensive.
Similarly, some of the composite manufacturing processes such as autoclave molding, filament winding,
etc. are rather expensive, and these processes are suitable for high-end applications where cost is not a
primary criterion.
Difficulty in jointing: Joints in composite parts are a major area of concern. Conventional jointing methods
using nut and bolt, rivets, threaded holes, etc. are not directly applicable in composites. Utmost care and
caution and innovative thinking are required for designing efficient and reliable composite joints.

APPLICATIONSOFCOMPOSITES

The benefits of composites are well recognized today, and the use of composite materials indifferent
industrial sectors is steadily growing. Industrial sectors that use composites can be broadly listed as
aerospace, automotive, building and construction, chemical, consumer goods, electrical and electronics,
marine, and others. It is important to note that each sector has its own characteristics in respect of
functional requirement, demand for goods, and many other parameters. Depending upon the particular
needs of a sector, composite materials, their design, and manufacturing processes are exploited suitably.
Thus, characteristic features of composite structures vary from one industrial sector to another. Some of the
common applications of composite materials are listed. Composites are used in both commercial and
military aircrafts. Typical benefits include (i) weight reduction leading to higher speeds, increased payloads,
longer range, and fuel economy,
(ii) reduced part count leading to simpler assembly and reduced. Overall cost, (iii) reduced radar reflection
and heat radiation leading to stealth capability in military aircrafts, (iv) higher fatigue resistance,and (v)
higher corrosion resistance, etc. Initial applications include boron/epoxy composites in skins of the
horizontal stabilizers of F-14 in the 1960s. Airbus A 310 was the first commercial aircraft to have extensive
composites (about 10% of the total weight).Since then, the use of composites has steadily increased and
today they are used in significant proportions in many aircrafts. For example, Airbus A380 and Boeing 787
Dreamliner use about 25% and 50% of composites, respectively.
 PMCs

Applications Typical Materials, Processes and Benefits

Aerospace
Aircraft Primary structures Materials:
Fuselage, forward • CFRP, AFRP and GFRP with epoxy
Fuselage, mid- • UD and BD prepregs
fuselage, rear • GFRP mainly in light aircrafts
Fuselage Wing box • CFRP in modern aircrafts
Empennage box Processes:
Control components • Automated prepreg lay-up
Flaps • Vacuum bagging, autoclave curing
Ailerons • Filament winding and pultrusion
Spoilers • Honeycombsandwich, stiffened structures
Slats
• Adhesive bonding of skins to core
Horizontal stabilizer
Benefits:
Vertical stabilizer
• Weight reduction leading to higher speeds, increased
Elevator
payloads, longer range, and fuel economy.
Rudder
• Reduced part count leading to simpler assembly and
Exterior parts
reduced overall cost
Radome
• Reduced radar reflection and heat radiation leading to
Landing gear hatches
stealth capability in military aircrafts
Karmans
• Higher fatigue resistance
Storage
• Higher corrosion resistance
Room doors
Fairings
Propeller blades
Interior parts
Floors
Doors

Bulk heads Brake

Materials:
disks
• CFRP and GFRP with epoxy, polyimide, and
Rotor blades Spar
Helicopter phenolics
Skin Core
Processes:
 Rotor hub • Filament winding and molding processes
Benefits:
• Reduced weight
• Enhanced dynamic characteristics
• Manufacturing ease
Launch vehicles Solid rocket motor Material:
and missiles Rocket motor case • Carbon/epoxy, Kevlar/epoxy for rocket motor casing
Insulating and ablative • Carbon/phenolic and glass/phenolic for nozzle liners
nozzle liners • Carbon/phenolic for reentry vehicle liners
Airframe structures • Carbon/epoxy for satellite applications
Inter stage section Process:
Payload adapters • Filament winding
Fairings
• Tape winding, compression molding for nozzle liners
Control surfaces Fins
• Advanced grid-stiffened shells and panels for air
Reentry vehicle
frame structures, payload adapters and fairings
components Launch
Benefits:
canisters
• Weight reduction
• Reduced part count
• Reduced cycle time
• Manufacturing flexibility
Satellite Tubings Brackets and
fittings Shear panels
Bus panel Fly wheels

Applications of PMCs

Applications Typical Materials, Processes and Benefits

– Head light support
– Transmission shafts
Chemical
industry
 Corrosion-resistant materials:
tanks Pipes, industrial GFRP with vinylester
vessels, sewer lines Contactlay-up, filamentwinding
Waste water Corrosion resistance
treatment equipment
Pollution control
equipment

Carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP), glass fiber-reinforced plastic (GFRP), and aramid fiber-reinforced
plastic (AFRP)with epoxy resin are all used, of which CFRP is the dominant composite material system.
Both unidirectional and bidirectional carbon/epoxy prepregs are used employing automated tape laying,
vacuum bagging, autoclave curing, filament winding, pultrusion, and adhesive bonding as common
manufacturing processes. Structural concepts such as honeycomb sandwich and conventional stiffened panel
and grid-stiffened panel are employed.
CFRP and GFRP are used in helicopter rotor blades and rotor hub. Rotor blades are typically made by
filament winding and molding processes. The principal advantages of composites in rotor blade are (i)
reduced weight, (ii) enhanced dynamic characteristics, and (iii) manufacturing ease.
Composites are used in many space vehicle applications. While the primary objective of using
composites in space applications is weight reduction, several other benefits such as reduced part count,
reduced cycle time, manufacturing flexibility, etc. can also be exploited. Carbon/epoxy and Kevlar/epoxy
filament-wound rocket motor cases and carbon/phenolic and glass/phenolic nozzle liners are common in
many solid propulsion systems in rockets and missiles. Advanced grid-stiffened shells and panels have been
adopted in airframe structures, payload adapters, and fairings. Filament-wound and tape-wound
carbon/phenolic liners are used for thermal protection in reentry vehicles. Carbon/epoxy composites are used
in satellite applications like tubings, brackets and fittings, bus panel, etc. CFRP composites can be designed
to yield near-zero CTE, which helps achieve dimensional stability across a wide range of temperature
variations.
Composites have unique applications in the automotive industry. E-glass fiber- reinforced epoxy leaf
springs are the first major structural applications of composites in automobiles. Other structural applications
include chassis components, drive shafts, etc. However, these applications have somewhat limited
acceptability. On the other hand, the major automotive applications of composites are in respect of the body
components such as roof, doors, hood cover, etc. These are made by compression molding of discontinuous
E-glass fiber reinforced sheet molding compounds (SMCs), in which the resin is either polyester or vinyl
ester. In addition to compression molding, structural reaction injection molding (SRIM), a variant of resin
transfer molding (RTM) is also employed in the manufacture of the automobile body parts. The major
advantages of using composites in automobiles are (i) reduced weight leading to fuel efficiency, (ii) reduced
tooling cost, (iii) corrosion resistance, and (iv) lower part count.
Civil engineering applications of composites are broadly of two types—housing sector and infrastructure.
GFRP prefabricated modular house, bunk house, cabin, mobile toilet cabin, etc. are some of the
commercially available products today. In the infrastructure sector, construction of new bridges and repair of
old bridges have been the major applications of composites. In this regard, corrosion resistance of composites
is the main attraction. Weight saving is not the main objective; however, it has some indirect advantages like
ease of transportation and installation, longer span, etc. E-glass fiber-reinforced polyester composite
laminates are used as facing sheets in sandwich construction to make bridge decks. The core is typically
glass/polyester tubes. Pultruded sections, resin transfer molded panels, etc. are other forms of composites in
bridge construction.
Glass/polyester and glass/vinyl ester composites are routinely used in the production of different types of
small and large yachts. In some cases, aramid fibers are also used these days. The primary attraction of
composites is weight reduction, which leads to greater speeds, better maneuverability, and fuel efficiency.
Hulls of these boats are made typically by contact molding. In some high-performance applications such as
racing boats, high specific strength and stiffness are essential. In such cases, hulls, decks, masts, etc. are made
using carbon/epoxy laminates and honeycomb sandwich construction with carbon/epoxy skins. There are
other marine applications of composites that include submarines, off shore oil exploration, etc.

Composites are also extensively used in other sectors, including energy sector, sporting goods, consumer
goods, chemical industry, etc. Rotor blades of wind turbines are made by using glass fiber composites.
fishing rods, bicycle frames, etc. Weight reduction coupled with better strength/stiffness and damping
characteristics are the primary attraction of composites in these sporting goods. Glass/epoxy composites are
also used, for example, in pole vaults for better energy absorption. Glass/polyester composites are
predominant players in the consumer goods sector, where chairs, tables, desert air cooler, etc. are made
typically by using chopped strand mat (CSM). materials. They area class of useful materials made by
macroscopic combination of reinforcements and matrix. The reinforcements and the matrix retain their
individual characteristics; they have their own individual functions, and as a whole, the resultant composite
material exhibits better properties that the individual reinforcements and matrix do not possess. Composites
are classified based on the type of matrix used. They are also classified based on the physical form of the
reinforcements. Composites are associated with many advantages that include high mechanical properties,
low densities, tailorable properties, design and manufacturing flexibility, less corrosion, and cost-effective
product development. There are certain limitations as well, which need to be addressed in the design and
manufacture of composite structures. Applications of composites are no longer limited to high-end aerospace
and defense sectors.

THECONCEPTOFCOMPOSITES
In the broad sense, the term composite materials refers to all solid materials com- posed of more than one
component wherein those components are in separate phases. This definition includes a wide assortment of
materials, such as: fiber reinforced plastics, regular and steel reinforced concrete, particle filled plastics, and
rubber reinforced plastics, wood laminates, ceramic mixtures, and even some alloys. The breadth of the
materials encompassed within this definition precludes their examination at anything except a cursory level
with in the pages of a single book. Therefore, this book will focus on one major branch of composite
materials—those that are fiber reinforced—a much narrower definition. So, when the terms “composites” or“
composite materials” are used, the definition envisioned is: Composite materials are those solid
materialscomposedofabinderormatrixthatsurroundsandholdsinplacereinforcements.The binders or matrices
(these terms are considered equivalent) of most importance in the marketplace are polymeric, and are,
therefore, the ones of most interest in this book. Some attention also will be given to both metal and ceramic
matrix composites. Generally, for all of these matrix materials, the reinforcements considered are fibers.
Some discussion will, however, be devoted to particle filled composites and nano fillers in their various
forms. Some writers have suggested an alternate definition of composites: Mixtures of two or more solid
materials that are mechanically separable, atleast in theory, and possessing complementary properties. This
definition emphasizes the improvements in properties possible when composites are made. The more narrow
definition of composites suggested previously fits with in this alternate definition and, as will become clear,
the complementary nature of matrix and reinforcement is there as on composites are so important
commercially. However, not all properties and characteristics are advantageous when composites are made.
For each application the advantages and disadvantages should be weighed.
As the properties and characteristics of composites are explored throughout this book, these advantages and
disadvantages will become more obvious. Some important properties of composites and metals are compared
in Figure Note the low weight, low thermal expansion, high stiffness, high strength, and high fatigue
resistance of composites versus steel and aluminum. These graphs lump all composites into one group, and
all types of steel and aluminum into two others, but the data correctly reflect the general trends.
COMPOSITES
The matrix is the continuous phase of the composite. Its principal role is to give shape to the structure.
Therefore, matrix materials that can be easily shaped and then hold that shape are especially useful. The most
common materials with this characteristic are polymers. Therefore, well over 90% of modern composites
have polymeric materials (sometimes referred to as plastics or resins) as their matrix.
As the continuous phase, the matrix surrounds and covers the reinforcements. Hence, the matrix is the
component of the composite exposed directly to the environment. Another role of the matrix is, there- fore,
to protect the reinforcements from the environment. The degree of protection desired is one of the key
considerations in choosing the type of polymeric matrix for the composite. For example, polymeric matrices
give good protection against moderately hostile conditions but may be inadequate when high temperatures or
some aggressive solvents are present. These extreme conditions may require a ceramic or metal matrix
composite.
The matrix is the component of the composite that first encounters whatever forces might be imposed.
Generally, the matrix is not as strong as the fibers and is not expected to withstand these imposed forces.
However, the matrix must transfer the imposed loads on to the fibers. The effectiveness of load transfer is
one of the most important keys to the proper performance of the composite. Almost all of the common
commercial polymeric, metallic, and ceramic matrix materials adequately transfer the loads onto the fibers.
The principal role of the reinforcement is to provide strength, stiffness, and other mechanical properties to
the composite. Generally, the mechanical properties are highest in the direction of orientation of the fibers.
For example,I fall the fibers in a composite are oriented in the long direction of the part (like strands in a
rope),the composite is strongest when pulled in the long direction. All of the properties of composites arise,
to some extent, from the interaction or presence of both the matrix and the reinforcement. However, as just
discussed, some properties are dominated by either the matrix or there in forcement. Even when one
component of the composite dominates, both components generally must work in concert to obtain optimal
performance. For example, if the matrix does not bond well to the fibers, or the fibers are not strong, little
improvement in strength is obtained over just the strength of the matrix. Some properties such as toughness,
electrical properties, and damping arise from a strong combination or interaction of the matrix and the
reinforcement. These combination properties will be discussed with a particular emphasis on the nature of
the interactions required for enhanced performance and the expected results from such interactions.
HISTORYOFCOMPOSITES
Early in history it was found that combinations of materials could produce properties superior to those of
these parate components. For example, mudbricks reinforced with straw were used by ancient Israelites
Matrix Reinforcements Gives shape to the composite part Protects there in forcements from the environment
Transfers loads to the reinforcements, Contributes to properties that depend upon both the matrix and there in
forcements,such as toughness Give strength, stiffness,and other mechanical properties to the composite
Dominate other properties such as the coefficient of thermal expansion, conductivity, and thermal transport
Mongols made composite bows by bonding together (using glue made from animal hoofs and bones) five
pieces of wood to form the core of a bow (center grip, two arms, two tips) to which cattle tendons were
bondedon the tension side and strips of cattle horns on the compression side. This assembly was steamed and
bent into the proper shape, wrapped with silk thread, and then cooled slowly (for up to a year) to create some
of the most powerful bowsever made.Bridges and walls are constructed today of steel reinforced concrete.
Nature uses the same principle in celery and ,less obviously, in trees where the pith surrounds a fibrous
(reinforcing) cellulose material.Thisis what gives the celery, and wood, strength.
The history of modern composites (of the type discussed in this book) probably began in 1937 when sales
men from the Owens- Corning Fiberglass Company began to sell fiberglass to interested parties around the
United States and those customers found that the fiber glass could serveas are in forcement.Fiber glass had
been made, almost by accident in 1930, when an engineer became intrigued by a fiber that was formed
during the process of applying lettering to a glass milk bottle. The initial product made of this finely drawn
molten glass was insulation(glasswool),but structural products soon followed. The fiberglass sales men soon
realized that the aircraft industry was, in particular, a likely customer for this new type of material. Many of
the small and vigorous aircraft companies seemed to be creating new aircraft designs and innovative
concepts in manufacturing almost daily, and many of these new innovations required new materials.
One company, Douglas Aircraft, bought one of the first rolls of fiberglass because its engineers believed the
material would help solve a production problem. They were trying to resolve a bottleneck in the making of
metal molds for its sheet forming process. Each changed aircraft design needed new molds, and metal molds
were expensive and had long lead times. Douglas engineers tried using cast plastic molds, but they could not
withstand the forces of the metal-forming process. The engineers reasoned that maybe if the plastic molds
were reinforced with fiberglass they would be strong enough to allow at least a few parts to be made so the
new designs could be quickly verified. If the parts proved to be acceptable, then metal dies could be made for
full production runs (jigs and fixtures) for forming and holding aircraft sections and assemblies needed to be
strong, thin, and highly shaped, often with compound curves. Metals did not easily meet these criteria, so
fiber glass reinforced phenolic production tooling became the preferred material for many of these aircraft
manufacturing applications.
Not long afterward, unsaturated polyester resins became available (patented in 1936). They eventually
(although not immediately)became the preferred resin because of their relative ease of curing when
compared to phenolics. Peroxide curing systems, needed for the polyesters, were already available with
benzoylper oxide being patented in 1927 and many other peroxides following not too long afterward. Higher
performance resins also became available about this time with the invention of epoxies in 1938. The material
sand the applications seemed to be converging at the same time.
The fast pace of composites development accelerated even more during World War II. Not only were even
more aircraft being developed and, therefore, composites more widely used in tooling, but the use of
composites for structural and semi-structural parts of the airplanes themselves was being explored and
adopted. For instance, in the frantic days of the war, among the last parts on an aircraft to be designed were
the ducts. Since all the other systems within the aircraft were already fixed, the ducts were required to go
around them. This often resulted in ducts that twisted and turned around the other components, usually in the
most difficult to access locations. Metal ducts just could not be easily made in these convoluted shapes.
Composites seemed to be the answer. The composites were hand laid-up on plaster mandrels (internal
molds), which were made in the required shape. Then, after the resincured, the plaster mandrels were broken
out of the composite parts. Literally thousands of such ducts were made in numerous manufacturing plants
clustered around the aircraft manufacturing/assembly facilities.
Other early WWII applications included engine nacelles (covers), radomes (domes to protect aircraft
radarantenn as), a structural wing box for the PT-19 airplane, and non-aircraft applications such as cotton-
phenolic ship bearings, asbestos-phenolic switch gears, cotton-asbestos-phenolic brake linings, cotton-
acetatebayonetscabbards, and thousands of other applications.
At about this time(1942),the United States government became concerned that the supplies of metals for
aircraft might not be available. A major effort was initiated to develop the design rules and manufacturing
methods for composites as possible replacements for aircraft metals. Several critical parts(including wing
sets for the AT6 trainer)were made to prove out the design concepts and manufacturing methods, which
included the development of filament winding and spray-up, sandwich structures, fire-resistant composites,
and prepreg materials.
Almost everyone agreed that the pent-up demand for automobiles was a logical application for
composites. By 1947 a completely composite automobile body had been made and tested. This car was
reasonably successful and led to the development of the Corvette in 1953,which was made using fiberglass
preforms impregnated with resin and molded in matched metal dies. Eventually the dominant molding
method for automobile parts was compression molding of sheet molding compound (SMC) or bulk molding
compound(BMC)—both to be explained in alater.
Some of the products made during the post-war era now represent the major mar- kets for composite
materials. In addition to aircraft, these include boats, automobiles, tub and shower assemblies, non-corrosive
pipes, appliance parts, storage containers, and furniture.
he push for aerospace dominance that began in the 1950s (during the Cold War) and picked up speed in
the1960s and 1970s gave a new impetus to further composite development. Hercules, Inc. acquired filament
winding technology from W.M.Kellogg Company and began makingsmallrocketmotors.In1961,apatent was
issued for producing the first carbon (graphite) fiber, which then was used in many of the rocket motors and
in aircraft. Other important fibers were also developed during this period, including boron fibers in 1965 and
aramid fibers (DuPont’s Kevlar) in 1971. In 1978, the crowning jewel of this period was the development of
the first fully filament wound aircraft fuse lage, the Beech Starship.
Recent material and process improvements and the development of higher performing fibers and resins
have led to tremendous advances in aerospace, armor (structural and personal), sports equipment, medical
devices, and many other high-performance applications. Composites seem to have found their place in the
world. They are finding increased use, especially in products where performance is critical. In 1989, the
National Academy of Engineering issued its list of the top 10 engineering achievements of its lifetime (the
25years prior to 1989). It ranked the development of advanced composites as number six on that list and
citede specially advanced composite materials such as graphite epoxy materials used to make lighter and
stronger aircraft, bicycles, golf clubs, and other products. The academy said composites add lightness and
strength to a wide range of everyday objects.
Some composite product applications are very new, including stealth aircraft, space structures, the
wrapping of concrete structures with composites for improvement of earthquake performance, wholly
composite bridges, and other construction edifices. It is interesting that construction is still a major market
for composites, just as it was in 1500 B.C. when the Egyptians and Israelites used straw to reinforce mud
bricks.
COMPOSITETYPES—ADVANCEDANDENGINEERING
Polymeric composites can be divided into two groups, advanced composites and engineering composites.
These differ principally in the type and length of the fiber reinforcement and in the performance
characteristics of the resins used. No sharp division boundary exists, however, and so one type of composite
transitions gradually into the other.

Factors, such as shape, can be illustrated by comparing the radar cross-sections (RCS) of various
airborne objects. The RCS is the area seen on radar. The smaller the area, the more difficult theobject is to
see. When comparing the various RCSs, note that the B-52 has approximately the same RCS as atrain boxcar
(108 ft2 [10 m2]), while the B-2 has about the same wingspan as the B-52 but has the RCS of
asmallbird(0.1ft2[.01m2]).
Wrapping concrete highway columns for protection against corrosion and to improve performance of
the columns during earthquakes is a relatively new application. Highway overpass columns are wrapped with
carbon fiber and epoxy composite material and then cured to give a hard, strong overwrap. This overwrap on
the column decreases the tendency of the concrete to buckle and collapse in an earthquake.
The second major group of composite materials is engineering composites. These materials are
characterized by fibers that are both shorter in length and lower in mechanical properties. Generally, they are
either made with low-cost thermoset resins or fiberglass (called fiber reinforced plastics or FRP), or
thermoplastic resins with short fibers (called fiber reinforced thermoplastics).
Products made from thermoset resins with fiberglass (FRP) include train cars, boat hulls, canoes, tubs,
shower stalls, spas, fuel storage tanks, and other parts made from conventional thermoset resins. These
structures illustrate the capability of engineering composite materials to give good strength and good
durability at moderately low prices. The processes for manufacturing FRP products are generally less precise
in maintaining exact fiber orientations and resin/fiber content than the advanced fiber processes.
The fiber reinforced thermoplastics are normally molded by the same processes as their non-reinforced
thermoplastic analogues. Such conventional processes include injection molding, extrusion, and so on. The
products made from fiber reinforced thermoplastics are generally the same as their non-reinforced
counterparts, but have the reinforcement added to gain strength, stiffness, or some other mechanical property.
For example, an injection molded nylon gear might be cracking because of high torque requirements. This
problem might be solved by using a fiberglass reinforced nylon, which could result in three times more
strength.
A summary of the differences and similarities in materials technologies of engineering and advanced
composites is given in Table A comparison of the processing and fabrication methodologies of advanced and
engineering composites is given in Table. Table provides a comparison of the market applications and
philosophical differences between engineering and advanced composites. These tables will serve as
references for understanding the nature of composites throughout the remainder of thist ext.
MARKETS
Composite materials are part of our lives every day. We ride in cars and light rail systems with composite
panels; we fly in planes with composite parts; our homes have composite showers and numerous composite
parts used in hidden places, such as in washers and dryers; and we enjoy recreation with composite tennis
racquets, golf clubs and boats.
The breadth of the composites market can be seen in the data compiled by the American Composites
Manufacturing Association (ACMA), which is presented in Figure 1-2. This data, which is for the United
States, is similar to data worldwide. The largest market for composites is transportation (32%), thus
suggesting the large amount of composites in automobiles and other land vehicles, which compose
thiscategory.Construction(20%),corrosion-resistant(12%),marine(10%),electrical/electronicequipment(10%),
consumer (7%), and appliance/business equipment (5%) are also large markets. The aircraft/aerospace
market represents only 1%, which is surprisingly small in light of its importance in the origin of composites.
Of course, the aerospace products are fewer in number but much higher in profit (peritem) than other
products. The growth of the carbon fiber market is possibly a key to understanding the composites market in
the future. Shipments of carbon fiber have grown geometrically since its introduction in the early 1970s. As
the volume of carbon fiber has increased, its price has steadily declined. Both trends, volume growth and
price decline, are expected to continue at least until the price of carbon fibers reaches a minimum based on
raw material cost. Carbon fiber usage is expected to expand into markets traditionally held by fiberglass,
such as automotive. Should this happen, some major restructuring could occur within the raw material
manufacturers and/or with in the pricing structure for fiberglass.
 Table: Comparisons of composites processing and fabrication methodologies.

Property FRP Composites Advanced Composites

Reduction quantities often quite Reduction quantities often much
Quantities large:100s to1000s or more smaller: typically less than a few
—usually miles/kilometers Tank hundred
systems—usually on there of Complex parts often less than a dozen
several hundred
Literally simple and requires only Processes more complex and tightly
moderate labor skills Filament controlled with paper work
winding, pultrusion, Contact ament winding, fiber placement, hand
molding, “chop and spray,” resin lay-up and vacuum bagging, tape lay-
Manufacturing
infusion (resin transfer molding up, resin infusion (RTM, VARTM, resin
processes
[RTM],vacuum-assisted resin film infusion [RFI], some SCRIMP,
transfer molding [VARTM], See thermo forming considerably more
man Composites resin in fusion quality control and in-process
molding process[SCRIMP®]) inspections clave processing of many
parts.
Aluminum molds and tooling glass Steel, and aluminum tooling Tight
tooling common Tool surfaces dimensional controls Extensive tooling
Often gel coated Simple tooling design efforts Highly polished tool
Material sand
fabricated for surfaces Composite tooling using
methods
Prototyping as well as some carbon-laminates temperature tooling
production tool cost significantly requirements.
lower.
Ambient cure Oven cure on some Controlled oven or auto clave curing
parts, heated platens, heated oil, and typically temperature-time-pressure-
Methods Electric heaters used in some vacuum cycles for many parts
tooling applications Tooling during most processsteps
Property FRP Composites Advanced Composites
 Generally ambient(25–140°F[4– Typically high performance ove broad
60°C])conditions Some extremes as temperature ranges:
are result of fluids and chemicals –65to165°F[–54to74°C] for
Application being processed many defense-related products Cryogenic
temperature and space applications incur lower
temperatures High-temperature operating
conditions in 300–700°F[149–371°C] range
for aerospace parts
Economic Low cost materials less expensive FRP More performance than cost driven
considerations products are lower-cost items Materials considerably higher cost
Typically use SF=2.0–5.0 Typically use SF=1.25–3.0 perates at
Safety factor(SF) Built to endure more robust handling extremesofperformance
Safety factors dependent upon Capability Safety factors dependent upon
certification standards rigid customer or industry standards
Generally us even or data ordata Generally
derived from limited testing anextensivedatabaseisdevelopedfromnumer
S-basis or B-basis design approach oustests
using nominal properties A-basis often used, B-basis usedwith
Design factors Designers often talk in terms backup testingtoverifyperformance
of“fiberandresinweight”percentwhen Designersuse“fibervolume”and“resinweight
preparingmanufacturingspecifications ” percent when preparingspecifications
Designsspecifynumerousenvironmentalfacto
rs (damage,temperature, pressure,etc.)
Materials testing often limited Materialsandstructuralcomponenttestingofte
toquality control upon material nextensive
receiptTestingoftenusesmaterialsupplie Significant testing at
rdata and past experienceCertification variousenvironmentalorloadlimits
to industry standards:American Lessrelianceonvendor-
Testing Society for Testing andMaterials supplieddataCertification rigid,
andcertification (ASTM), AmericanPetroleum followingcustomerandgoverningagency
Institute requirements: Department of
(API),UnderwritersLaboratories(UL),S Defense(DOD), National Aeronautics
ociety of Automotive Engineers(SAE), andSpace Administration (NASA),Federal
American National Aviation Authority (FAA),Department
 StandardsInstitute(ANSI),AmericanSocie ofTransportation(DOT),National Institute
tyofMechanical Engineers of Standards andTechnology(NIST)
(ASME),BritishStandards(BS)

Structure of the composites industry.

COMPOSITESINDUSTRYSTRUCTURE
A diagram of the structure of the com- posite industry is given in Figure. The manufacturers of fibers
andresin supply the raw materials to the remainder of the industry. These manufacturers are general- ly
largecompaniesutilizingcomplexplantstomakethefibersandresins.Clearly,the
capital investment would be high for a com- pany seeking to begin the manufacture of fibers or
resins.Therefore,thenumberofresinandfibermanufacturersissmall.
After the raw materials are made, they must be combined together to make the composite material. Then
thecomposite material is molded to create the compos- ite part. This combining of raw materials can be done
justprior to or during the molding process. Or, it can be done as a separate step before molding, often by
someoneother than the molder. When done just prior to or as part of the molding process, the raw materials
go directlyfrom the manufacturer to the fabricator/molder. Not shown are distribution companies that might
provideservice for the manufacturers by warehousing the raw materials. These companies allow the
fabricator/moldertobuyinsmallerlotsandofferimproveddeliveryserviceovertherawmaterialsuppliers.
Several different types of intermediatecompanies might be involved in combining the resin and the fibers
priorto molding. Two general types of combinations are made. For advanced composites, the combination of
resinwith reinforcement is called a prepreg, which is an abbreviation of “pre- impregnated fibers.” Prepregs
are made with precise resin and fiber contents and orientations, and careful wetting of the fibers. The
prepregs, in a sheet form, can be made using cloth or some other woven, braided, or knitted fabric, which is
impregnated with the resin. Or, alternately, they can be made using unidirectional fibers held in a parallel
array and then coated with the resin. When using the most common resins, the prepregs must be kept
refrigerated so they do not cure prematurely. The fabricator/molder lays the prepreg sheets in the mold,
compresses them to remove the air, and then heats the prepreg material to mold and cure. The details of this
consolidating and molding process are discussed later in this book in the chapter on open molding (long
fibers). The fabricator/molders who use prepregs justify the additional cost by pointing to their carefully
controlled resin-fiber content, thee limination of the problems associated with wet resin, and their overall
ease of fabrication. Nevertheless, thehighercost generally limits the use of prepregs to only high-value
applica- tions such as aerospace andsportinggoodsproducts.
These condtype of combination system for composites is compounding or manu-
factureofmoldingcompound. This system is associated with engineering composites or fiberglass reinforced
plastic (FRP). Justas with the prepreggers, the compounders are often able to make more precise mold- ing
compounds than could be conveniently made by the fabricator/molder. The molding compounds can be
either in sheet form orinabulkmaterial,oftensoldasalog.Mold-
ingcompoundsusuallycontainchoppedfiberglass(ratherthecontinuous fibers of prepregs). Hence, performance
of molding compounds is lower than with prepregs. Molding compounds are, therefore, associated with
engineering composites whereas prepregs are associated with advanced composites.
Each class of company can be involved in more than one step in the overall composites business. For
instance,the raw material suppliers, especially the resin manufacturers, are often involved in compounding.
This is especially true with fiber reinforced thermoplastics. Some raw material suppliers are also involved in
making sheet and bulk molding compounds and prepregs.
A few of the raw material suppliers mold parts directly. Some independent prepreggers and compounders
alsomold composite parts. In most of these cases, however, a separate division of the raw material supplier or
the independent prepregger/compounder does the molding, thus preserving the idea.
THECONCEPTOFCOMPOSITES
In the broad sense, the term composite materials refers to all solid materials com- posed of morethan one
component wherein those components are in separate phases. This definition includes awide
assortmentofmaterials,such as: fiberreinforced plastics, regularand steel
reinforcedconcrete,particlefilledplastics,andrubberreinforcedplastics,woodlaminates,ceramicmixtures, and
even some alloys. The breadth of the materials encompassed within this definitionprecludes their
examination at anything except a cursory level within the pages of a single book.Therefore, this book will
focus on one major branch of composite materials—those that are fiberreinforced—
amuchnarrowerdefinition.So,whentheterms“composites”or“compositematerials” are used, the definition
envisioned is: Composite materials are those solid materialscomposed
ofabinderormatrixthat surroundsandholdsinplacereinforcements.
The bindersormatrices(these termsare consideredequivalent)ofmostimportance inthemarketplace are
polymeric, and are, therefore, the ones of most interest in this book. Someattention also will be given to both
metal and ceramic matrix composites. Generally, for all ofthese matrix materials, the reinforcements
considered are fibers. Some discussion will,
however,bedevotedtoparticlefilledcompositesandnanofillersintheirvariousforms.Some writers have suggested
an alternate definition of composites: Mixtures of two or more solidmaterialsthat are mechanically separable,
at least in theory, and possessing complementary properties. Thisdefinition emphasizes the improvements in
proper- ties possible when composites are made. Themore narrow definition of composites suggested
previously fits within this alter- nate definitionand, as will become clear, the complementary nature of matrix
and reinforcement is the reasoncomposites are so important commercially. However, not all properties and
characteristics areadvanta- geous when composites are made. For each application the advantages and
disadvantages should be weighed.
As the
propertiesandcharacteristicsofcompositesareexploredthroughoutthisbook,theseadvantagesanddisadvantagesw
ill become more obvious. Some important properties ofcomposites and metalsare compared in Figure 1-1.
Note the low weight, low thermal expansion, high stiffness, highstrength, and high fatigue resistance of
composites versus steel and aluminum. These graphs lumpall composites into one group, and all types of
steel and aluminum into two others, but the datacorrectlyreflectthegeneraltrends.
Of great value is that the separate characteristics of the matrix and reinforcements contributesynergistically
to the overall properties of the composite. Moreover, because so many
differentmatrixandreinforcementmaterialscanbechosen,awiderangeofpropertiesispossible.Withinaparticularch
oiceofmatrixandreinforcement.
ROLESOFTHEMATRIXANDREINFORCEMENTINCOMPOSITES
The matrix is the continuous phase of the composite. Its principal role is to give shape to thestructure.
Therefore, matrix materi- als that can be easily shaped and then hold that shape areespecially useful. The
most common materials with this characteristic are polymers. Therefore,well over 90% of modern
composites have polymeric materials (sometimes referred to as plasticsorresins)astheirmatrix.
Asthecontinuousphase,thematrixsurroundsandcoversthereinforcements.Hence,thematrixis the componentof
the composite exposed directly to the environment. Another role of thematrixis,there-
fore,toprotectthereinforcementsfromtheenvironment.Thedegreeofprotectiondesiredisoneofthekeyconsideratio
nsinchoosingthetypeofpolymericmatrixforthe composite. For example, polymeric matrices give good
protection against moderately hostileconditionsbutmaybe inadequatewhenhightemperaturesorsome
aggressive solventsarepresent.Theseextremeconditionsmayrequireaceramicormetalmatrixcomposite.
The matrix is the component of the composite that first encounters whatever forces might beimposed.
Generally, the matrix is not as strong as the fibers and is not expected to withstand
theseimposedforces.However,thematrixmusttransfertheimposedloadsontothe fibers.Theeffectiveness of load
transfer is one of the most important keys to the proper performance of
thecomposite.Almostallofthecommoncommercialpolymeric,metallic,and
ceramicmatrixmaterialsadequatelytransfertheloadsontothefibers.
The principal role of the reinforcement is to provide strength, stiffness, and other mechanicalproperties to the
composite. Generally, the mechanical properties are highest in the direction oforientation of the fibers. For
example, if all the fibers in a composite are oriented in the longdirection of the part (like strands in a rope),
the composite is stron- gest when pulled in the longdirection. This characteristic of composites allows the
part designer to specify certain percentagesof the fibers to be in certain exact orientations for a particular
application. If the forces on the part would
comefromalldirections,thenthedesignerwouldspecifyrandomizationormulti-directionality of the fibers. The
composite part manufacturer has the obligation to control
fiberorientationsothedirectionalandpercentagespecificationsoffibercanbesatisfied.Thismanufacturing task has
led to several manufacturing methods that are unique for composites.These and other more traditional
manufacturing methods, which can be modified to accommodatecomposites,willbeexaminedlaterinthisbook.
All of the properties of composites arise, to some extent, from the interaction or presence of boththe matrix
and the reinforcement. However, as just discussed, some properties are dominated byeither the ma- trix or
the reinforcement. Even when one component of the composite dominates,both components generally must
work in concert to obtain optimal performance. For example, ifthe matrix does not bond well to the fibers, or
the fibers are not strong, little improvement instrength is obtained over just the strength of the matrix. Some
properties such as toughness, electrical properties,and damping arise from a strong combination or
interaction of the matrix and the reinforcement. These combination properties will be discussed with a
particular emphasison the nature of the interactions required for enhanced performance and the expected
results from such interactions.
Course Outcomes Mapped to Module I:
Students will be able to:
Blooms
CO Course Outcomes
taxonomy
CO 3 List common types of fibers used in composites construction and Remember
their mechanical properties for deciding the applications of
composite fibers based on the constituents.
CO 4 Summarize different types of bonds used in composites, their Understand
physical and chemical properties and different tests carried out for
interpretation of the interfacial strength.

Program Outcomes Mapped to Module I:

Program Outcomes
PO 1 Engineering knowledge: Apply the knowledge of mathematics, science, engineering
fundamentals, and an engineering specialization to the solution of complex engineering
problems.
PO 2 Problem analysis: Identify, formulate, review research literature, and analyze complex
engineering problems reaching substantiated conclusions using first principles of
mathematics, natural sciences, and engineering
sciences

Mapping of CO(s) With PO(s) for Module I:

Course Program Outcomes

Outcomes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

CO 3 √

CO 4 √ √
 UNIT II

Manufacturing Methods for Polymer Matrix Composites

INTRODUCTION

Composites technology is process intensive. For anyone in the field of composites, good knowledge of
manufacturing processes is essential to know how the reinforcements and matrix materials are converted
efficiently in to a useful product.
As reflected by numerous research articles, composites manufacturing is an extensively researched
vastsubject.Severalfullvolumesoftexthavebeendevotedtodiscussthevariousaspectsofcompositesmanufactur
ing in detail [1—3]. There are also several texts in which composites manufacturing is presented in lesser
detail to complement discussionsonothertopicsof overall compositestechnology [4—6].In thischapter, the
manufacturing of composites is treated as an important link in the chain of various topics that
areinvolvedinthefinalgoal,thatis,developmentofacompositeproduct.

BASICPROCESSINGSTEPS:
All composites manufacturing methods involve four basic steps. These are:

1. Impregnation
2. Layup
3. Consolidation
4. Solidification

These steps are essential in all composites manufacturing methods. However, the methodology of
implementation and the exact order in which these steps are implemented vary depending upon the
manufacturing method and physical form of there in-forcement and matrix.

Impregnation

Impregnation or wetting is the step in which the fibers are wetted with there’s in. The objective of this step
is to ensure that each filament is wetted with resin all around. The matrix and the fiber—matrix interface
play an important role in the load transfer mechanism in a composite material; resin-starved areas imply
discontinuity in the load transfer path, and thus, proper wetting of fibers is essential for
themanufactureofsoundcompositesparts.Severalprocessparametersinfluenceproperimpregnationofthefiber
s;someofthekeyparametersareviscosityofresin,itssurfacetension,and capillary action.
Impregnation is done in different ways in different composites manufacturing methods. In all wet lay-up and
wetwinding processes, impregnation is done during the actual fabrication process. For example, in wet
filamentwinding,fibersarewettedinaresinbathpriortodepositingthemonthemandrel.Similarly,inwethandlay-
up,fabric plies are placed on a mold and wetted with resin using an application brush. On the other hand,
in thedry lay-up and dry winding processes, impregnation of the reinforcements is done during
prepreg/towpregmanufacturing.

Lay-Up

Lay-up is the step in which the reinforcements are placed as per the designed orientation. The
structuralperformanceofacompositepartdependsgreatlyontheplysequence.Themethodsofplacingthereinforc
ementsvaryfromoneprocesstoanother.Forexample,infilamentwinding,windingprogramsareusedtocontrolrel
ativemotionsofthemandrelandcarriageunit.Theimpregnatedfibersaredepositedby
thecarriageunitonthemandrelalongapredesignatedpath.Inahandlay-upprocess,
specifiednumbersoffabricpliesareplacedatspecificfiberorientationssoastoobtainthedesiredlaminatethicknes
s.Incontrasttotheabovetwoandother such manufacturing methods, in which reinforcements are deposited
in layers, there are manufacturingmethods in which short reinforcements are placed at random
orientation, resulting in globally isotropiccomposite parts. There are other types of manufacturing
methods, such as RTM, that use preforms. In apreform,fibersareplacedinaspecifiedpattern,
typicallyinthreedimensions.

Consolidation

Consolidationistheprocessofremovingexcessresinandentrappedairduringcom-
positeprocessing.Theobjectiveistocreateintimatecontactbetweenlaminae, and There are different ways in
which electrons behave in the bonds formed between the elements (atoms) ofthe periodic table. The
elements can be divided into two major groups—metals on the left and non-metalson the right. Some
elements along the inter- section of the periodic table can behave as both metals andnon-
metals,depending onthecircumstances,butthattechnicalitywillbeignoredforthisdiscussion.

The separation of the elements into met- the most prominentpolymeric matrix metals and non-metals is
based on the tendency Serials for composites. The differencesof the element to give or take one or more
tween these polymeric materials have been electrons whenforming bonds with other examined and their
various advantages and elements. The metals give electronsand disadvantages pointed out. Standing back
the non-metals take electrons. All the now and taking a lookat all the polymeric are electrically neutral
before bonding matrixmaterials as a group, some commonwith other elements; that is, the number of
characteristics can be seen when they are protons in the nucleusequals the numbercompared to non-
polymericmatrix ofelectrons surrounding the nucleus.So,rials(ceramics and metals), which will be. When
the metal atoms give up electrons discussed in this. Then on- Incomparison to ceramics and metals,
metals become negatively charged. Any the polymer matrices have advantages by charged element,
whether positive or being easier to mold lessexpensive, lighter negative, is called an ion weight, and can
wet out there inforcements. There are three possible ways that the more easily. The polymermatrices’
disbarments, metals and non-metals, can combine. Lower thermal stability, lowerFirst, a metal can
combine with a non-metal. Stiffness, and lower hardness,which affect Second, a metal can combine with
another metal. Third, a non-metal can combine with a non-metal. These combinations result in three
different bonds.

IonicBond—Metal Atom with Non-metal Atom When a metal atom comes near a non- metal atom, one
or more electrons will move from the metal to the non-metal because a more stable state is formed in both
atoms when the electrons transfer. This causes the metal to become positively charged and the non-metal
to become negatively charged. These positive and negative ions will then attract each other strongly,
much like north and south poles of magnets at- tract. The ions can be said to bond together. This type of
bond is called an ionic bond. Most of the time many positive and negative ions join togetherin athree-
dimensional lattice of alternating ions, where each of the positive ions is surrounded and attracted by
many negative ions and viceversa. The lattice structure is usually called a crystal.
If the entire structure is a continuous lattice structure without boundaries, it is called a single crystal.
Mostcrystal structures are not that uniform. There are crystals that are finite in size and that meet
othercrystals, which usually have different orientations. These materials are called pofy-crystalline. It is
alsopossible to form ionic- bonded materials from atoms that do not form crystals. These latter structures
formarigid,disordered(amorphous)networkthatistermedaglass.Regularwindowglassissuchamaterial.
Ionicbondsarethemost important bondsin ceramic materials. These bonds are strong and therefore require
much energy to break. That high bondenergy is responsible for the high melting point of ceramics.
Further, if the ceramic is placed under force,the layers in the crystal will resist movement relative to each
other because any movement would result inthe positive ionscomingnearother.positive ions—ahighly
unfavorable situation since like chargesrepel. Hence, the crystal structure resists movement. This is
demonstrated by the brittleness of ceramics.The resistance to atomic movement and the strong bonds
between atoms also explains the hardness ofceramics and their wear resistance. Hence, the major
properties of ceramic materials can be ascertainedfromknowledge of thecharacteristicsofionic bonds.
MetallicBond—Metal Atom with Another Metal Atom
When several metal atoms come into close proximity, they all want to give up one or more electrons to
form a more stablestate.Thisispossiblebecausethedonatedelectronscanmovefreelyinthespaces

between the positively charged metal ions. The freely moving electrons cancel repulsive charges
betweenthe atoms and, therefore, bind the ions together. The highly mobile group of electrons is called
the sea ofelectrons. When positive ions are held together by a sea of electrons, the bonding is called a
metal- licbond.Metalsandmostmetalalloysarecharacterizedbythistypeofbonding.
The metal ions arrange themselves into a three-dimensional lattice structure that has some similarity to
thelattice structure of ceramics; both are called crystals. How- ever, the metal structure is not as brittle as
theceramic because the metal layers can move more easily, facilitated somewhat by the sea of
electrons.When the layers of the metal crystal move relative to each other, the positive-positive repulsions
of themetal ions are cancelled to some degree by the sea of electrons that moves between the ions. (The
sea ofelectrons is like a lubricant that forms a slick coating between moving parts.) Therefore, metals are
moreductile than ceramics. This ductility gives metal atoms greater ability to move when impacted,
therebyabsorbing impact energy. Hence,metals are less easily broken on impact and tougher than
ceramics. Thegreater mobility of metal ions, which is facilitated by the sea of electrons, means that less
energy isrequired to separate the individual ions in the lattice. Therefore, the melting points of metals are
generallylowerthanthe meltingpointsof ceramics.
The mobility of the electrons can be actually seen in metals. They reflect light and give metals their
shinyappearance. The eletrons’ mobility also can be noted by the high electrical and high thermal
conductivityof metals. The highly mobile electrons are carriers of the electrical charge and heat energy
through themetal.In ceramics,theelectronsare held strongly by thenon-metal ions.So,theydo
notconductelectricity or thermal energy well (except when in solutions where the ions have been broken
out of thecrystallatticeandthe ionsthemselvescarrytheelectricalcharge).
CovalentBond—Non-metal AtomwithAnotherNon-metalAtom
The third possibility for bonding is when a non-metal atom comes into close proximity with another non-
metal atom. Both of the non-metals want to take electrons. This is done by sharing some of their outer-
mostelectrons to achieve stable states for both atoms. The type of bond in which atoms areshared
iscalledacovalentbond.
Many common small molecules are held together by covalent bonds. Some examples are water,
carbondioxide,methane(naturalgas),andammonia.Thesemoleculesaremostlygasesandliquidsand,therefore,
not important structural materials. Some non-metal atoms, especially carbon, have the ability tobond with
several otheratoms to form long chains.These chains are called polymers.When a polymergets to be about
20 units long, it is a solid and can begin to have some structural properties. As has
beendiscussedinpreviouschapters,thepolymericmatrixmaterialsusedincompositesarelongpolymers,someti
mesmadeofthousandsofunits.Because polymer units consist of mol- ecules that are long chains, the atoms
are not able to pack asindividual atoms or ions as they do in ceramics and metals. However, under certain
conditions, thepolymer molecules can align together and achieve some increased stability by packing
together in amolecularstructure similarin someways to the crystal structures of the ceramics and the
metals.Whenthis occurs, it can be said that the polymer is crystalline or, more accurately, semi-
crystalline, since inpolymers, this packing never involves all of the molecules so there are always some
areas that are non-crystalline. These areas are called amorphous regions. Some polymers form almost no
crystalline regions and these are commonly called amorphous polymers. The overall linear nature of the
uncross polymer molecules gives polymers some distinct differences from ceramics and metals. In
amorphous regions, there are no primary forces between the atoms in adjacent polymers. Even in the
crystalline regions, the forces attracting the molecules together are small when compared with the
crystalline forces of ceramics and metals. Polymers will entangle, a characteristic of long chains, and the
energy for untangling the chains is much less than the energy of breaking the ionic and metallic bonds.
Therefore, the energy required to separate polymeric molecules from each other
isrelativelysmallcomparedtotheenergiesrequiredtobreakceramicormetalcrystals.Asaresult,themelting
points of linear (thermoplastic) polymers are much lower than the melting points of ceramics ormetals.
Remember that melting a polymer does not mean that the atoms are separated out of the polymerchain; it
merely means that the chains can move independent of other chains. The separation of the
atomsfromeachotheroutofachainistheprocessofdecomposition,andthatrequiresmuchhighertemperatures
than polymericmelting (although stillnotas high as many ceramic and metalmeltingpoints).
The relative openness of the polymer structure also means that polymer atoms can move quite easily
and,therefore, absorb impact energy. Hence, polymers are tougher than either metals or ceramics. This
move-ment, however, means that polymers are not as strong or as stiff as ceramics and metals. As will be
seen inmuch more de- tail later in this text, the inherently lower strength and stiffness of polymers is one
of themain reasons that they are reinforced with strong, stiff fibers to make composite materials. It is,
therefore,obvious that polymers are made into composite materials to achieve better strength and
stiffness.
PROPERTIESANDUSESOFCERAMICMATRIX COMPOSITES
The most inviting applications for ceramic matrix composites(CMCs) are where poly-mermatrix
composites are least likely to be used—in high-temperature environments and where high stiffness
isrequired. The high-temperature capabilities of ceramic matrix composites are summarized in Table 7-
1.With the exception of carbon-matrix composites, which must be protected from oxidation by ceramic
coatings, ceramicmatrix compositesareclearlythebestchoiceforhigh-temperatureapplications.
The problems of high temperatures can be summarized in the following general- ized laws.
• Everything reacts with everything at high temperatures.
• Everything reacts faster at high temperatures.
• There action products may be any-thing. While these rules are obviously an over simplification
and meant to give some humor, their intent isclear: withstanding high temperatures is extremely difficult
for materials. Much effort has been invested to develop products that can withstand the temperatures
demanded by our high-techworld.
The aerospace industry gives some examples of the increasing need for high- temperature applications.
Over the last several decades, the temperature requirements of materials have gone from a little
overnormal temperature on a hot summer day to approaching 3,000° F (1,649° C) as airplanes have
increasedin sophistication. When time at temperature is considered, the requirements for performance at
hightemperatures are even more dramatic. In some applications, such as the space shuttle, the technology
hasnotfullymettherequire-mentand,asissadlyevident,some mishapshave occurred. When a material’s
technology has not reached the required levels of performance fortemperature and time, time has to be
carefully controlled so that the material’s ability to perform is notseverelycompromised.
As mentioned, non-reinforced ceramics inherently possess the high bond energies that allow them to
beusedin high-temperature/high-stiffnessapplications.However,inevitably,the brittlenessandlackofimpact
toughness of these non-reinforced ceramic materials seem to limit the applications in which theycan be
used. Simply put, the structural applications for non-reinforced ceramic materials are severelylimited.
Fortunately, it has been found that by adding a reinforcing material to a ceramic, the toughness of
thematerial can be sub- stantially improved. Moreover, the material’s temperature capability is not
adverselyaffected and, in many cases, is actually im- proved. These reinforced ceramics are, of course,
ceramic matrix composites.
Toughening Mechanisms
To understand the mechanisms by which the reinforcements toughen the matrix, this section will
examinethe nature of toughness in detail. In previous chapters it has been pointed out that toughness is
related tothe ability of a material to absorb the energy created when the material is impacted. By
absorbing impactenergy, the material resists local concentrations of energy that are sufficient to initiate
and propagatecracks. Therefore, toughness also can be defined as the ability of a material to resist the
initiation andpropagationof cracks.
The following toughness mechanisms in ceramic matrix materials have been pro-posed, either acting
alone or n concert.
Usually, if cracks form from local stress concentrations that exceed local strengths, they naturally
propagate since the energy that encourages this behavior is often higher than the energy absorbed in that
propagation. However, if the growing crack encounters a boundary of a strong and rigid material, such as
a reinforcement, it will be unable to simply move through the reinforcement material. Instead, the crack is
deflected and runs along the surface of the reinforcement where it must break interface bonds between the
reinforcement and the matrix and, possibly, induce pullout of the reinforcement from the matrix. This
deflection, breaking of the bonds, and pullout require energy (absorb energy). That absorbed energy is
often sufficient to stop the growth of the crack. In other words, the reinforcement has arrested the
growthofthecrack.Somecallthisphenomenoncrackpinningorcrackdeflection.
Another method used in composites to stop crack growth is by load transfer to the reinforcement. This
occurs when the reinforcement has a higher strain to failure than the matrix. In this ease, when the crack
encounters the fiber, the load is transferred to the fiber from the matrix. As the fiber elongates, itabsorbs
the energy of the crack along its length, and the energy then dissipates through internal atomic motions.

Yet another method used to arrest the growth of cracks in ceramic matrix composites is transformation
toughening in which the movement of the crack induces a phase or crystalline transition in the
reinforcement (toughening) material. When such a transformation increases the volume of the phase or
crystal, the crack is squeezed by the enlarged matrix and the energy required for further growth is
increased.

Thus, the crack stops growing. If the growth of the crack creates micro cracks that radiate from the
leading point of the growing crack, the micro- cracks can absorb sufficient energy to stop the growth of
the main crack. These toughening mechanisms are probably not completely independent and might occur
simultaneouslyandsynergistically,althoughonemechanismmaydominateinaparticularsystem.

Reinforcement Shapes

Several types of reinforcement shapes have proven to be successful in improving the toughness of
ceramicmatrix composites. Reinforcement shapes for polymer matrix composites will be discussed in a
later chap-ter. However, the shape effects of ceramics reinforcements are unique enough that some
considerationshould be given to them here. The shape effects are unique because the purposes of
reinforcements inceramics differ from polymer composites. In ceramics, the reinforcements have a
primary purpose ofgiving toughness whereas in polymer composites the reinforcements carry the load to
improve mechanicalproperties like strength and stiffness. The most common shapes to reinforce ceramics
are fibers andwhiskers. Flakes and particles are also used but have less significance in changing
properties and will notbediscussedhere.
Sincecontinuousorevenlong-segmented
reinforcements force deflection of a crack to travel along the fiber for a longer distance, these long
fibersare more likely to absorb sufficient energy to arrest crack propagation than are particles or whiskers.
But,theselongerreinforcementsmayresultingreaterdifficultyinprocessing.However,someotheradvantages of
longer fibers also have been recognized and exploited in various applications.
Continuousfibers,oftenbutnotexclusivelycarbon,canbetailored
toconcentratetheirstrengthandstiffnessintoparticularorientations.Thereinforcementscanbeunidirectionalfib
ers,fabrics,orpreforms.Sometimes further lateral or transverse toughness can be achieved by including
some whiskers in thematrix material. The use of long-fiber composites has proven to be highly beneficial
forapplica- tionssuchasturbineblades.Whisker reinforcements do not impart the same toughness as
continuous fibers, but whiskers are mucheasier to process. Moreover, whiskers impart sufficient tough-
ness for many applications. They are, there-fore, the dominant reinforcement shape for CMCs. A
comparison of fibers and whiskers in a ceramicmatrixisgiveninMolrixMoleriols.
Many materials can serve as ceramic matrices. They are chosen, inpart,on their ability to withstand
theenvironment and meet the specific requirements of the application. Most ceramic matrices are
comprisedof: alumina (Al2O3). borosilicate (BPO-SiOt), mullite (mixed Al,O, and SiOt), magnesium
oxide (MgO),eordierite(mixed MgO,AltO„and SiO),zirconia(ZrO),lith-iumaluminosilicateglass(LiOt-
AltO,-SiO).silicon earbide (SiC), boron earbide (B4C), silicon nitride (Si N4). aluminum nitride (AIN),
boron nitride(BN), zirconium boride (ZrB,), titanium boride (TiB,), molybdenum disilieide (MoSi ). and
sialon (acomplex compound of Si, Al, O, and N). Some of these materials are well known ceramics while
othersare chosen for specific applications. MoSit is an example, where its high melting point (3,660° F
f2,016°C])allowsapplica-tionsthatarerareevenforCMCs.
Applications
In many applications, especially those requiring good thermal and wear proper- ties, CMCs compete
withcarbon-carbon composites. However, some experts classify carbon-carbon composites as CMCs.
This isreasonablebecausethecarbonmatrixhaspropertiessimilartothoseoftheCMCsthathavebeendiscussed.
However, because the ba- sis of the carbon-carbon matrix is a polymer, this text has treated
thistypeofcompositewiththepolymericgroup.Clearly,however,theclassificationcouldbeeitherway.
As noted previously, the ability of CMCs to withstand high-temperature environments has led to their
useinmanyaerospaceapplications.Someofthemostcommonusesincludeengineparts,especially turbine
blades and in areas that confine the exhaust gases. Skin areas in the path of exhaust gases are
alsotypically made of CMCs. As the speeds of aircraft increase, especially for planes and hypersonic
vehicles,frictional heating will require higher-temperature materials on surfaces such as wing leading
edges andnosetips.
Space applicationsinclude heatshieldsforspace re-entry vehicles,nose cones,engine parts,
rocketnozzles,andgeneralspace structures where thermal exposure is a critical issue. Strategic and tactical
missiles increasinglyshare this need to with- stand high temperatures. Sensors are being placed on these
structures in keylocations to monitor the heating and, increasingly, the stresses that arise during flight.
Those sensors need to beespecially protected from the heat and impact damage. Therefore, “sensor
windows,” covers that protectthe sensors, are increasingly made from CMCs. Similarly, most of these
structures have small parts thatserve as fasteners (such as bolts and nuts) and fittings that have both high
thermal and structural (oftenisotropic)requirements.These,too,arecandidatestobe madeof CMCs.
CMCs are generally more transparent to radar, microwaves, and other telecommuni- cation
frequenciesthan other composites. Thus some applications of CMCs include radomes, space structural
elements onopti- caldevices,andstealthcomponents.
Just as advanced aerospace applications are increasing toward highertemperature requirements,so, too,are
automotive ap- plications.Automotive enginesoperate more efficiently athighertemperatures,sothere is a
strong incentive to increase operating temperatures, which are progressively out of the range ofmetals.
Initially a few parts were made from CMCs, such as piston heads and exhaust valves. As the trendto
higher- temperature engines continues, it is likely thatmore componentswill be converted to
CMCs,possiblyevenentireautomotive engines.
Non-automotivepowergeneratorsalsohavebeenshowntooperatemoreefficientlyathighertemperatures.
Therefore, CMCs are being used as components for gas-turbine engines, oil- and coal-
firedpowerplants,andnuclearpowergenerationsystems.
Another non-automotive application for CMCs is in heat exchangers. Heat exchangers are
increasinglyimportant as engines and other devices operate at ever-higher temperatures. As with most of
these otherdevices, the efficiency of a heat exchanger increases with operating temperature. In this
application,thermal conductivity and resistance to heat shock are important. While ceramics do not
generally havegood thermal conductivity, the presence of rein for cements with high thermal conductivity
has madeCMCs highly effective as heat exchangers. This is especially true when the reinforcement is a
fiber that iscontinuous in the CMC and oriented so that the direction of the fibers is the directionthatthe
heat is tomove.Carbonfibershaveproventobeespeciallygoodasreinforcementsinthisapplication.
The abrasion resistance of CMCs has led to their extensive use as cutting tools for the metal-
cuttingindustry. These tools have demonstrated far longer wear lives than traditional tool-steel cutters. In
additionto their abrasion resistance and general hard- ness, CMCs are dimensionally stable, thus
improving on theaccuracyof cuttingovertraditionalsteelcuttingtools.
A closely related application forCMCs is tooling forextrusion dies. These tools are used to shapematerials
as they are pushed through a small opening (die) that gives shape to the final part. Metalextrusions
include such common items as aluminum window frames, automotive trim, and wire, where thediameter
of the wire is reduced as it is drawn through the die. In plastic partmanufacturing, heatedplasticmelt is
pushed through the die and then cooled into the shape desired. Some familiar
plasticextrudedpartsincludePVCpipe,beveragedrinkingstraws,andsyntheticfibers.
Some tooling, such as the cavities in an injection mold for plastics, is made by electrical
dischargemachining (EDM).Thisprocessusesaspark to form the shape required in the tooling by eroding
awaythe unwanted material.
One application for CMCs that does not depend on thermal or wear capability is armor. Some
armorconsists of layers of CMC material between metal plates. CMC armor has been shown to offer
uniqueprotection against high-explosive, anti-tank (HEAT) rounds. These rounds had been a serious
problemsince the waning days of WWII when they were firstused. The principle on which the metal-
CMC-metalsandwich works uses the expansion in volume that occurs when the CMC is penetrated by the
HEAT round. As revealed in high-speed photography, as theCMC is penetrated, it shatters and thus
greatly expands volume. This expansion is directed outward through the penetration hole, which pushes
the metal jet of the HEAT round with it. Thus, a counterforce is applied that helps to protect the second
layer of metal and, therefore, the integrity of the tank. This technology has proven to be so effective that
advanced anks in the United States, Great Britain, and other nations use the technology. A similar
technology is used for inserts placed into the pockets of bullet-proof vests for individual protection.

MANUFACTURINGOFCERAMICMATRIXCOMPOSITES
Many ceramic matrix materials are solid powders before they are formed into compos- ite materials.
Forwhiskerand particle rein- forced composites, the whiskersorparticles are usually blended with
thepowder and then pressed to form a preform. The preform is then heated,often under pressure, to
atemperature slightly lower than the melting point of the ceramic. (This assumes the reinforcement has a
higher melting point than the ceramic matrix.) The ceramic particles consolidate with each other and with
the reinforcements in a process called sintering.
The whisker reinforced composites have higher strength and higher toughness com- pared to the non-
reinforced ceramics. Some of the whiskers proven to be especially beneficial are SiC (silicon earbide) in
amatrix of Si,N 4 (silicon nitride) and ,(aluminum oxide). This blending/winteringprocess can be done
with short fibers rather than whiskers or particles. However, the short fiber reinforced composites
generally have lower strength and higher toughness than the non-rein-forced matrixitself.
While deceptively simple in concept, the process of making CMCs from powders using whiskers as
thereinforcements is actually quite complicated as it involves many dif- ferent variables. Therefore,
theproperties of the whisker reinforced CMC are dependent on these variables: whisker production
method,whiskersize,whiskerloading,matrixparticlesizeandshape,matrixpowder/whiskerblending,whisker/
matrixcompatibility,forming conditions,use ofawintering aid,and sintering temperature,pressure,andtime.
The whisker, particle, or continuous reinforcements can be mixed with a slurry of the
ceramicpowdersineither a water or organic (usually alcohol) solvent carrier. Wetting
agentsmightbeaddedtoassist inwetting the fibers. Organic binders also might be added to help hold the
materials together in a preform after the carrier has been evaporated. The slurry is filtered and then heated
under pressure to eliminate the liquid and shape the ceramics and reinforcements into a convenient form
for subsequent operations. This preform is then heated to eliminate any binder, and then further heated at
higher temperature and pressed to sinter the matrix and entrap there in forcement. Another manufacturing
method is to create a preform of continuous fibers using weaving, braiding, or knitting techniques. These
fiber preforms are then infiltrated with the powdermaterial, often by the slurry technique. The
impregnated fibers are then heated in stages to remove theliquid and the matrix. During the heating,
pressure is applied using a mold that has the shape ofthe preform and, of course, the final part.
Alternately, the fiber preform can be infused with melted ceramic. The high viscosity of the melt limits
this method somewhat, but it can work if the fibers are sufficiently wetted and the infusion is done
slowly. The ceramic matrix also can be infused into the fiber pre-form using chemical vapor
deposition(CVD),also called chemical vapor infusion(CVI).CVD/CVI is a process in which the ceramic
matrix is vaporized and then enters the pre- form and coats the fibers. Further gaseous ceramic material is
infused and this material reacts with the ceramic coating already on the fibers and eventually fills the
pores in the matrix. This is as low process, but the results can be good because bonding of the matrix to
the fibers is usually excellent. An ewlyemerging technique for manufacturing CMC s is to create there
inforcement phase by direction reaction, which occurs during the consolidation of the matrix. This
process,called in-siture action sinterring, employs two or more constituents in a compact preform, which
react during sintering to form new phases. The method has the potential to improve the uniformity of the
distribution of the reinforcing materials since they are formed throughout the matrix material.
Inaddition,somenewcompositestructuresmaybepossiblewiththismethod.TheCMCsmadewiththistechniquei
nclude aluminum nitride with titanium boride, titanium carbide with alumina, titanium nitride with
alumina,titaniumboridewithalumina,titaniumnitridewithsiliconnitride,boronnitridewithalumina,andtitaniu
mnitridewithsialon.Atthistime,thismanufacturingmethodhasbeendemonstratedinthelaboratorybuthasnotbe
enwidelyusedoncommercialproducts.

PROPERTIESANDUSES OFMETALMATRIXCOMPOSITES
Metal matrix composites (MMCs) consist of high-performance reinforcements in a metallic matrix. The
first production use of MMCs was as components of the space shuttle (boron reinforcement in
aluminummatrixtomaketubes,1974).Today,themostcommonmatrixmaterialsare:aluminum,titanium,magne
sium, copper, nickel, and various alloys of these metals. The reinforcements can be in the form of
particles, whiskers, or fibers. The most common reinforcements are boron fibers, graphite/carbon fibers,
and silicon carbide fibers, whiskers, and particles. Just as fiberglass reinforcements are routinely addedto
engineering thermoplastics to improve their strength or stiffness, so too are reinforcements routinely
added to metals to improve strength and stiffness. Therefore, MMCs are common where part
specifications dictate highperformance.
Since metal matrices are usually inherently ductile and tough, the problem in ceramic matrix
compositeswithbrittlefractureis of little importance with MMCs. Rather, the MMCs are analogous to
polymermatrixcompositesinthatthereinforcementisstrongerandstifferthanthematrix.Therefore,thecomposit
eisstrongerandstifferthanthe non-reinforcedmatrix.

PropertyComparisons
The MMC properties of most importance are: strength and stiffness improvement over non-
reinforcedmetals, higher temperature stability than polymer matrix composites, wear resistance, damping
control
ofvibrations,electricalconductivity,thermalconductivity,andcontrolofthecoefficientofthermalexpansion.Fro
mthetableitisobviousthatparticulatereinforcementswillraisethemodulusandstrengthsignificantly over the
non-reinforced material. Note also that the 7090 alloy has a slightly higher
strengthandmodulusthanthe6061alloy,butbothareroughlythesamewhencom-
paredtohavingnoreinforcement. Because whiskers are more difficultto incorporate into the matrix than
particles, thewhiskers are shown with only 209c loading. Even so, the modulus and strength data are
nearly the same asthe 30% particulate data. Thissuggeststhatwhiskers are more efficientthan particlesat
increasingstrength and modulus. This is, of course, as would be expected because the whiskers have a
more distinctlength/diameter ratio, which allows better transfer of forces to the whiskers than can be done
with theparticles. The much higher strength and modulus values for the fibers in aluminum indicate that
fibers arebetterthanwhiskersasreinforcements.
An advantage of whiskers over fibers is their ability to easily reinforce in all directions. Typically,
thetransverse and longitudinal strengths of whiskers are within 59a of each other. Hence, whiskers are
moreeffectivethanfiberswhentheapplicationrequiresmultidirectionalreinforcement.
Allowcomparisonsbetweendifferentmetalmatrices.Whenthestrengthor modulus of the matrix increases,
the strength or modulus of the composite also increases.
ThisdemonstratesthatthematrixandreinforcementinMMCsbothcontributetothestrengthandmodulus.

This is somewhat different from polymer matrix composites where the fibers clearly dominate the
strengthand modulus values. The reason for this difference is that, in metals, the strength and modulus of
thematrixaremuchclosertothevaluesofthereinforcement,sothe

Propertiesofselectedmefolmofrixcomposites.

Modulus,X10‘ps Strength,x
Reinforcemen Density,lb/in.3(
Matrix Reinforcement i,(GPo) ) 03 psi(MPo)
tType g/cm3)
AI6061 None — 0.097(2.7) 10.0(69.0) 35(241)
AI6061 30%SiC Particulate 0.105(2.9) 17.55(120.7) 80(552)
AI7090 30%SiC Particulate 0.108(3.0) 18.5(127.5) 112(772)

AI2124 20% SiC Whisker 0.104(2.9) 18.0(124.1) 108(745)

AI6061 Graphite Unidirectional 0.089(2.5) 48.6(335.1) 120(827)

fiber

MgAZ91C Graphite Unidirectional 0.072(2.0) 52.2(359.9) 117(807)

 fiber

Cu SiC Unidirectional 0.230(6.4) 30.0(206.8) 150(1,034)

fiber
AI SiC Unidirectional 0.103(2.8) 30.0(206.8) 212(1,462)
fiber
Ti SiC Unidirectional 0.140(3.9) 31.0(213.7) 240(1,655)
fiber

Combinedvaluesinthecompositearemoreofanaverage.Plotsofspecificstrengthversus
specificstiffnessofMMCsandvarious resin-rein-forcedmaterialsare shownin Figure7-2.The
reinforcedmetalsare,ingeneral,bothstiffer and stronger than non-reinforced analogues. The exceptions
would be when the reinforcement does not increase the specific strength or stiffness because it is heavier
or in some other way adds weight disproportionately affecting the strength or stiffness.(Note that specific
strength and specific stiff-ness are the strength and stiffness divided by the density.
Therefore, heavy components tend to decrease the sevalues.) Metal matrix composites do not have the
best combination of specific strength and specific stiffness when compared to carbon fibers in resin, as
shown in How- ever, they do have good specific strength and stiffness compared to most other materials,
along with other properties that are of particular advantage for some applications. One obvious advantage
over both polymeric and ceramic matrix materials is conductivity. Even with highly conducting fillers,
polymeric and ceramic materials do not reach the conductive levels of metals. Another advantage to
MMCs is their lack of outgassing in space. Polymeric materials have atendency to release trapped gases
when in a low-pressure environment like space. Metal matrix composites have little chance of trap-ping
gases. Further, even if gases are preent ,the low diffusivity of metals (especially compared to polymers)
makes MMCs highly valued in space applications.

AI 2 O/inalumin
um

Carbonfib

Ste Berylliumfibersi ersinr

el AI2 O/innick naluminum
Alumin
um el
Specificmo esinB
= non- dulus =whisk =continuous
reinforced ers fibers
Boronfibersinnickel
erylli

um
Course Outcomes Mapped to Module I:
Students will be able to:
Blooms
CO Course Outcomes
taxonomy
CO 5 Outline various techniques and processes like hand layup, filament Understand
winding etc, for understanding the pros and cons of these
manufacturing methods.
CO 6 List the mechanical properties of various metal, ceramic matrix Remember
materials constituted in composites for studying the characteristic
changes in the properties of composites based on their constituents.

Program Outcomes Mapped to Module I:

Program Outcomes
PO 1 Engineering knowledge: Apply the knowledge of mathematics, science, engineering
fundamentals, and an engineering specialization to the solution of complex engineering
problems.
PO 2 Problem analysis: Identify, formulate, review research literature, and analyze complex
engineering problems reaching substantiated conclusions using first principles of
mathematics, natural sciences, and engineering
sciences

Mapping of CO(s) With PO(s) for Module I:

Course Program Outcomes

Outcomes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

CO 5 √

CO 6 √
 UNIT III
A particular advantage of MMCs is post- fabrication formability. Polymer matrix composites areusually
thermosets and, therefore, cannot be reshaped after curing. Ceramic matrix composites are highmelting
and therefore cannot be shaped with ease. Metal matrix composites have a lower melting
pointthanceramicsandcanusuallybereshapedusingconventionalmetalshaping processes such as casting,
forging, cutting, milling, EDM, and cold forming.
The incorporation of a second phase (the reinforcement)into a metal significantly affects the propagation
of pressurewavesthroughthematerialbyactingassitesforscatteringandattenuation. Measurements on boron
fiber reinforced aluminum have shown a five-fold increase indynamicdamping capacity. In
anotherexample, the highthermal conductivityof ametalmatrix,combinedwiththelow thermal expansion of
the composite, allows the design of high- performance heat sinks
forelectronicsapplications.Carbonreinforcedcopperisofparticularinterestforthisapplication.

A problem thatmust be acknowledged in MMCs is the corrosion that arises when aluminumis
reinforced with carbon/graph- ite fibers. In an environment in which the composite might bewetted
by water or, even worse, seawater, the corrosion between carbon fibers and aluminum israpid.Water -
basedcorrosionofaluminumreinforcedwithSiCisnotassevereaswithcarbon/graphite, but it still must be
dealt with in the design of parts. The corrosion with SiC isusually restricted topitting rather than the
cata-strophic failure that can occurwith carbon/graphite.

Applications:
MMCs have been used in automotive, aerospace, sports, and numerous other ap- plications. Some
automotive applications include: piston ring inserts, pistons, connect- ing rods, impellers, brake ealipers,
sway bars, and critical suspension components. One automobile company is using MMCs as the crown of
the pistons. It reports a seven-fold increase in piston life for its diesel engines. Another auto manufacturer
is using an alu- minum MMC block in its engines without the normal steel liners. In aerospace, MMCs
have been used for applications such as structural rods for space platforms, antenna masts for satellites,
aircraft stiffeners, actuator rods, missile body easings, and various joints and fittings. Sports
applications include tennis racquets, golf club heads, and golf club shafts. General manufacturing
applications include cutting tools and bearings. A pump company reported a 200% increase in pump life
when it changed from a steel housing to one made of MMC. The application was pumping sandy and
dirty water.
In general, anything that can be cast in aluminum can be east in an aluminum matrix MMC. The
cost increase is 30—40%. Typical industries using east aluminum MMCs include defense, automotive,
and sporting goods. The range of tolerances, surface finishes, production rates, and casting sizes are about
the same as with non-rein- forced aluminum. However, part complexity is reduced somewhat because of
the higher viscosity of the reinforced melts. Shrinkage is about 1.5% in MMCs. Machining of MMCs
causes more tool wear than with non-rein- forced metals. Polycrystalline diamond tools are preferred for
cutting MMCs. Typically, finishing costs for MMCs are about twice as much as for non-reinforced
analogues.

MANUFACTURING OF METALMATRIX COMPOSITES

As with other composite materials, the manufacturing methods used to make MMCs depend on the
natures of the matrix and reinforcements. When reinforcement orientation is not important, as with
particles and whiskers, the matrix and reinforcements simply can be blended and then molded.
Conceptually the reinforcements could be blended into a molten metal. However, in practice, the mixing
of the fibers and the melt is done in a machine like an extruder. The extruder melts the metal in a heated
barrel and a screw applies pressure and forward movement to the molten metal and the reinforcements,
which are added in the barrel. The reinforcements must be small enough to pass through as the screw
turns and to clear other small tolerance zones within the extruder. The final parts may or may not be
pressed while still hot. If pressed, the mechanical properties are better. Melting is usually done under an
inert gas atmosphere to prevent formation of unwanted metal oxides and metal carbides. A more common
method of incorporating particles or whiskers into a metal is to blend the reinforcements with a metal
powder. In this technology, called powder metallurgy, the metal powder is thoroughly blended with the
reinforcements. The mixture is then degassed to remove any volatile components and trapped air. The
powder-reinforcement mixture is then pressed into a preform that is shaped appropriately for later work.
An organic binder might be added to help retain the shape of the preform. The preform is then heated to
remove the binder and further heated at a higher temperature while being pressed to consolidate the metal
powder and bond with the reinforcement. This is a sintering process and is similar to the sintering process
discussed for ceramic matrix composites. In the ease of metals, however, some experts have suggested
that the processing temperature must be above the solidus temperature of the metal (that is, the
temperature at which a liquid phase begins to form) to achieve proper wetting of the fibers. Sometimes a
subsequent shaping process, such as pultrusion, can be done to reform the powder metallurgy billet into
the final form.

Mixing long fibers with either a powder or a melt would be difficult because the orientation of the fibers
would not be preserved and the fibers might be broken in the mixing process. However, it is possible to
coat the fibers with the metal powder and then carefully place them in the orientations desired. The fibers
can then be heated and pressed to sinter the metal powders. The problems with this meth- od are the
difficulty in retaining the metal powder on the fibers as they are oriented and the problem of disturbing
the orientation while the materials are compressed.

A pressure infusion method has proven to be more convenient than the powder method and still preserves
the orientations of the fibers. In this method, thin sheets of the metal matrix material (called foils) are
placed un- der and on top of a layer of reinforcement, thus making a sandwich structure. Multiple layers
of reinforcement and foils can be done. The fiber layer is laid down carefully in the proper orientation on
top of a metal foil and then covered with another metal foil. The metal- fiber sandwich is then compressed
(the foils help retain the fibers in place) and heated to above the melting point of the metal. This heating
with compression causes the metal foils to melt and infuse with the fibers, thus wetting the fibers and
distributing the metal throughout the structure.

Rather than infuse the metal using foils, it is also possible to melt the metal and cast it onto the fibers that
have been arranged in the casting mold. This is especially appropri- ate when the shape of the part is
complex. It is also a good way to make MMCs that have thick sections. A vacuum or pressure assist is
often used to help with full wetting of the fibers. Some reinforcements, especially carbon fibers, are not
wetted well by molten metals, so special fiber coatings are used to improve the bonding between the
fibers and the metal matrix.

Just as with ceramics, vacuum diffusion can be used to infiltrate the fibers with the metal matrix. In fact,
this process is simpler with metals than with ceramics. Fiber volumes of 50—60% have been achieved
using diffusion techniques. (Fiber volumes above 50% are characteristic of advanced polymeric
composites.)

An unusual method has been employed to make boron carbide reinforced metal matrix composites. In this
method, the boron carbideand the metals that form the alloy matrix are combined. But, instead of
combining them as molten liquids, they are combined as microscopic particles, which are then blended in
an advanced jet mill and compressed at high pressures to form a billet. The billet is thenshaped to form
parts, such as bicycle frames, where the composite competes well against traditional aluminum alloys.
The modulus of the new MMC is more than three times greater than the best modulus of aluminum. The
new MMC is also about 38% stronger.

POLYMERS

In a PMC material, a polymer such as epoxy or polyester is used as the matrix material that is reinforced
with very fine diameter fibers such as carbon, glass, etc.A polymer is a natural or synthetic compound of
usually high molecular weight consisting of many repeating units of smaller molecules (monomers) that
can be linked in linear, branched, or cross-linked form. A linear polymer is one in which the mono- mers
form long chains without any branches or cross-links. It is the simplest in form but it is also the poorest in
terms of strength and stiffness properties. A branched poly- mer has a 2D molecular structure with
branches connected to the main linear chains. A cross-linked polymer is one in which the adjacent linear
chains are connected by covalent bonds in a highly complex 3D form. (A covalent bond is a very strong
attraction between the atoms.)
Polymers are classified as follows:
Thermosets, Thermoplastics, Noncrystalline Crystalline Rubbers

Thermosets:
Thermosets are polymers that chemically react under suitable environment, such as high temperature, to a
permanently solid and infusible state. In such a solid state, the molecu- lar structure is highly complex and
3D; thus, the cross-linking process is irreversible and softening of the solid polymer upon heating is not
possible. Both thermosets and ther- moplastics are used for making composites. However, thermosets are
more popular as matrix material. Common thermosetting resins (matrix materials are more commonly
known as resins in the shop floor) are epoxy, phenolic, polyester, vinyl ester, etc.
Thermoplastics:

Thermoplastics are those polymers that can be repeatedly softened by application of heat and hardened by
cooling. They are largely either linear or branched polymers and their change in form upon heating is
more physical than chemical. Thermoplastics have high melt viscosity; as a result, wetting of the
reinforcements by these polymers is generally difficult. However, thermoplastics are recyclable and
advanced processing techniques are being developed for composites with thermoplastic matrix.
Characteristics of thermoplastics are compared with those of thermosets inCommon thermoplastics used
in composites are nylon, polyethylene, and polysulfone.
Rubber
Both natural as well as synthetic rubbers are available in the market. Natural rubber is obtained from a
sticky milky colloidal fluid produced by various rubber plants, of which Hevea bra, ilien, is’ is the most
common commercially exploited rubber plant [2,3]. Other rubber plants include Ca,stilla ela.stica, Ficu.s’
ela,stica, etc. Incisions are made into the bark of the rubber plants and the whitish fluid flows down from
the inci- sion marks, which is collected and refined to obtain rubber.

Reinforcements and Matrices for Polymer Matrix Composites

Rubber is also made synthetically and a wide range synthetic rubbers such as silicone rubber, Viton
rubber, EPDM, nitrile rubber, polyurethane, etc. dominate the market today. Natural rubber has high
elongation at failure, low Young’s modulus, and very effective water proof ness. Rubber is extensively
used in many household and industrial applications. Tire and tubes are the single largest products that
consume almost 609c of total rubber production worldwide. In the other general goods sector, rubbers are
 used for making hoses, belts, adhesives, mats, gloves, carpet, toys, gaskets, and many others.Rubbers,
however, are rarely used as matrix material for making a composite product.

COMMON THERMOSETS FOR PMCs

Thermosets are the common resins used in PMCs especially in continuous forced composites. There are a
number of these resins and numerous possibilities exist for selecting a resin together with associated
curatives, modifiers, and additives. A detailed discussion is far beyond the scope of this book; rather a
brief introductory note is given in the following sections on three common thermosetting resin systems
epoxy, polyester, and phenolic resins.

Epoxy Resins

Epoxy resins are a class of polymers that have found extensive applications in industrial, aerospace, and
other high-end sectors. Typically, in an epoxy system, there are two components—a base epoxy resin and
an epoxy curative. In addition, a modifier is also added to obtain specific desired property. Each of these
three components imparts specific physical and mechanical characteristics to the resin system during
processing as well as a processed material. By proper choice the three components, it is possible to tailor
the resin system and unique combinations of physical and Mechanical properties are achieved.

Base Epoxy Resin

The base resin in an epoxy system is chemically an organic compound containing epoxide molecules. An
epoxide molecule has an epoxide group in its molecular structure. As shown in there are one oxygen and
two carbon atoms in an epoxide group. The epoxide groups are a common feature in all types of epoxide
molecules, but the other details attached to the epoxide groups vary from one type of epoxide molecule to
another. A wide variety of epoxy resins are commercially available, which can be broadly categorized as
follows:
 Glycidyl epoxies
 Glycidyl ether
 Glycidyl ester
 Glycidyl amine
 Nonglycidyl epoxies
 Aliphatic
 Cycloaliphatic

The most common commercial epoxy till today is diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA). Other
important epoxy resins include novolac epoxy and brominated epoxy. In the initial “green” or uncured
state, the epoxide molecules do not normally react with each other at room temperature. Curatives
(commonly called as hardeners) are added to the base epoxy resin and the process curing starts. During
the process curing or thermosetting reaction, the small base molecules and the curatives chemically react
with each other into a complex 3D network. In this process of cross-linking, large molecules are formed
and the resin system hardens.

Properties

Mechanical and physical properties of cured epoxy resin system are useful from two angles—first, to
compare and select the appropriate resin system for a particular usage, and second, in micromechanical
analysis composites. Properties of cured epoxy systems depend upon the type of base resin, hardener,
modifiers, and their mixing pro- portions. There are many commercially available resins and hardeners
and, virtually innumerable possibilities exist. However, based on the required properties, the choice of the
resin system can be quickly narrowed down. Thus, the resin, hardeners, and modifiers are chosen based
on the application, composite manufacturing method, and the end properties required. In micromechanics,
individual parameters, such as density, modulus, etc., of reinforcements and cured resin are used as input
data for determiningthe composite laminate properties

Reinforcements and Matrices for Polymer Matrix Composites

An epoxy system is associated with a number of physical and mechanical properties. Some these
correspond to the base uncured resin and the hardeners, and the rest to the cured epoxy. Representative
properties of uncured and cured epoxy resins are given in. It may be noted that the properties of epoxies
given in the table are indicative depending on the formulation and processing, epoxies with a wide range
of properties can be synthesized and manufacturer’s data sheet should be consulted for the design a
product.

For the composites engineer, on the shop floor, characteristics o1 the uncured resin system are of primary
concern. From this angle, physical form, viscosity, pot life, cure characteristics, shelf life, storage
condition, etc. need to be considered. Commonly, epoxy resins are available as powders, flakes, semisolid
paste, etc. Resins in a solid or seen solid form are inconvenient to process as a laminating system. The
process of mixing the resin and hardener to prepare the resin system varies and the details can be obtained
from the manufacturer. Generally, resins and hardeners in solid/semi solid form are heated to a higher
temperature and the molten materials are mixed at the specified ratio. Also, at times, the resin mix is kept
at elevated temperature so as to maintain the melt viscosity within limit. Highly viscous resins are not
suitable for composites processing as it leads to non uniform/inadequate wetting the rein forcements.Pot
life is the length of time from the instant the hardener is mixed with resin until the time the resin mix is
usable for its intended use. It may vary from a few minutes to a couple of hours. Too short a pot life is
inconvenient for manual composites processing such as hand lay-up as well as for automated processing
such

Applications

Aerospace composite applications, in general, demand high strength and stiffness, high toughness, high
temperature resistance, and good dimensional stability. Epoxy resins provide unique combinations of
these properties which is rarely possible with other res- ins. Thus, the aerospace composites market is
dominated by epoxy resins. Aerospace applications, however, form only a small fraction of the total
usage of epoxy resins.

Polyester Resins

Polyestcr resins are unsaturated thermosetting resins made by dissolving polyester oligomers in a solvent.

Polyester Oligomer

Polyester oligomers are produced by condensation reaction of functional acids and functional alcohols.
Commonly used acids are ophthalmic acid and maleic acid, whereas glycols such as propylene glycols are
used as alcohols.

Reinforcements and Matrices for Polymer Matrix Composites:

The saturated acid is the major part in the composition, and based on the type of the saturated acid used in
the oligomer, different classes of polyester resins are made. Common classes of polyester resins are
orthophthalic, isophthalic, terephthalic, dicyclopentadiene (DCPD), chlorendic, and bisphenol-A
fumarate.Orthophthalic polyester resins are made from phthalic anhydride, maleic anhydride, and
propylene glycol. These resins, also called ortho resins or general-purpose (GP) resins, possess good
structural properties. These are among the cheapest of all polyester resins and thus, GP resins are the most
popular polyester resins used in commercial applications. Isophthalic polyester resins are made from
isophthalic acid. These resins are more expensive than and superior to the orthophthalic resins in terms of
strength and stiffness, chemical resistance, and thermal properties. Terephthalic polyester resins are
produced from terephthalic acid. In terms of physi- cal, mechanical, and chemical properties, terephthalic
resins are nearly similar to the isophthalic resins, whereas, their thermal characteristics are marginally
better.
DCPD, chlorendic, and bisphenol-A fumarate polyester resins are specialty polyes- ter resins. DCPD
polyester resins are produced using DCPD. These resins are cheap, and characterized by low shrinkage,
very good surface finish, rapid cure, and UV resis- tance. They have largely replaced the ortho resins in
marine applications.Chlorendic resins are made from HET (hexachlorocyclopentadiene) acid, an
unsaturated acid such as fumaric acid and glycol. These resins are very rigid and possess excellent
chemical resistance, thermal stability (high heat deflection temperature [HDT]), and fire retardancy.
Bisphenol A fumarate resins are made from bisphenol A, propylene oxide, and fumaric acid. Bisphenol A
and propylene oxide are reacted to form glycol, which in turn is reacted with fumaric acid to produce
bisphenol A polyester. Like the chlorendic resins, these resins are also characterized by rigidity, excellent
chemical resistance, and thermal stability.
Solvent
The most common solvent used for dissolving the polyester oligomers is styrene. It acts as across linking
agent and reduces the resin viscosity as well. During curing, the sty- rene molecules react among
themselves and polyester oligomers forming a 3D network, and the resin solidifies.
Additives
In a polyester resin, the polyester oligomer and the solvent are the primary components. In addition to
these, a number of additives, in small proportions, are added with specific purposes. Initiators and
promoters are the primary additives. The initiator initiates the chemical reaction for cure. A commonly
used initiator is methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP). MEKP and other initiators decompose very
slowly and they cannot cure polyester resin completely at room temperature.
Mechanical properties of the cured polyester resin depend upon a number of parameters that include type
of the base acids and alcohols making the oligomer, solvent and its proportion, additives, etc. In general,
isophthalic resins have the highest mechanical properties. Orthophthalic resins have adequate mechanical
and thermal properties; they are inferior to the isophthalic resins, but cheap and, thus popular in general
pu- pose application. Chlorendic and bisphenol A fumarate resins are very rigid and hip•h1y stable in
thermal and chemical environments.
Applications
While epoxy resins dominate the aerospace composites market, polyester resins are the most widely used
resin systems in overall market for resins. More than S09c of total poly- ester resins are used for making
FRP products, o1 which GFRP are the most common. Fiber-reinforced polyesters are used in a very wide
variety o1 applications in different industrial sectors that include automotive, buildings and construction,
chemical, consumer goods, electrical, energy, marine, recreational and sporting goods, etc. Polyester
resins are also used without any reinforcement; typical casting applications include gel coats, decorative
products, etc. lists some of the major applications o1 polyester resins.
Vinyl Ester Resins
Vinyl ester resins have certain commonalities with polyester resins. Similar to the poly- ester resins, these
are also unsaturated thermosetting resins made by dissolving an oligomer in a solvent and cured by
mixing similar catalysts and accelerators. However, the vinyl ester oligomer chemistry is different from
that of polyester. It is made by reacting an unsaturated carboxylic acid with an epoxy.
Using different types of epoxy base, different types of vinyl ester resins are made; these are GP vinyl
ester (based on bisphenol A epoxy), fire retardant vinyl ester (based on brominated epoxy), vinyl ester
(based on novolac epoxy), etc.
Vinyl ester resins are versatile and their properties and applications vary widely. Owing to the presence of
epoxy, these resins, in general, have better chemical resistance

REINFORCEMENTS

Reinforcements are the primary load-bearing component in an advanced PMC mate- rial. Different
materials in fiber forms are used as reinforcements, of which the follow- ing are significant:
 Glass fibers
 Carbon fibers
 Aramid fibers
 Boron fibcrs
 Natural fibers
 Whiskers and ceramic fibers

Materials in their bulk form contain flaws, which affect their strength and stiffness properties. In the fiber
form, internal flaws are absent and the net load-bearing area as a fraction of the gross cross-sectional area
is very high. Further, fibers have high degree of molecular and crystallographic alignment. As a result,
mechanical properties of materials in their fiber forms arc higher than in the bulk forms. Materials used
for fiber reinforcements are of lower density as compared to other conventional structural materials such
as steel, aluminum, ctc. and, thus specific strength and stiffness (strength and stiffness divided by density)
are very high for fibrous reinforcements.

COMMON REINFORCEMENTS FOR PMCs

Glass Fibers

Glass fibers are the most widely used commercial reinforcements for PMCs. These are of high tensile
strength but relatively low modulus fibers.

Types of Glass Fibers

Different types of glass fibers are commercially available. Traditionally, these are known by certain letter
designations such as E-glass, S-glass, D-glass, C-glass, etc. All these types can, however, be categorized
into two broad categories—general pur- pose (GP) fibers and specialty fibers. Representative
compositions of different types of glass fibers are tabulated in Various oxides are present in the chemi-
ca1 compositions ot glass fibers, of which silica is the main constituent. Other major constituents are
aluminum oxide, calcium oxide, boron oxide, and magnesium oxide. Several other oxides are also present
in small quantities; however, in certain special cases, sodium oxide and zirconium oxide constitute good
proportions of the overall composition.
GP Glass F—ihers
E-glass fibers are the GP glass fibers and constitute over 909c of the total glass fiber production. E-glass
fibers (E denoting electrical) were originally developed for electri- cal applications, where low electrical
conductivity is a requirement. Essential constitu- ents in an E-glass fiber composition are SiO2, Al2O„
And CaO. In addition to these, B2O, mily or may not be present. Thus, based on the presence or
otherwise of boron in the chemical composition, two primary subtypes of E-glass fibers are commercially
available—boron-free and boron-containing E-glass fibers.
Chemical compositions ot commercially available boron-free and boron-containing E-glass fibers differ
substantially. Boron-containing E-glass fibers have lower dielec- tric constant than the boron-free type
and, they are used in electrical applications such as electronic circuit boards, etc. On the other hand,
boron-containing and boron-free types are both good from the point ot mechanical properties. Further,
they are available at low prices and, thus, both types ot E-glass fibers are extensively used for making
GFRP products for a wide range o1 commercial applications.
Glass fibers other than the E-glass fibers belong to the specialty types. Each of these types has certain
specific characteristic property associated with it.S-glass fibers (S denoting strength) are premium glass
fibers that provide the best ot mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties of all commercial glass fibers.
A variant of these fibers is S-2 glass fibers. Both S-glass as well as S-2 glass fibers are commonly used in
aerospace and military applications. D-glass fibers (D denoting dielectric con- stant) are of borosilicate
composition containing high percentage of B2O, in addition to SiO2. Owing to the high proportion of
boron oxide, dielectric constants of different D-glass fibers are much lower as compared to the E-glass
fibers. Thus, these fibers are favored in high performance electrical applications. Corrosion resistant glass
fibers have been developed; these include C-glass, ECR-glass, and AR-glass. ECR-glass fibers are
suitable for use in acidic environment, whereas, AR-glass fibers, owing to the presence of zirconiuin
oxide in their composition, provide good alkali resistance and are used in fiber reinforced concrete
applications.

Production of Glass Fiber

Glass fiber production is a three-stage process: raw materials handling, glass melting, and fiber forming.
Typical production cycle is schematically shown in. A number of raw materials are used for the
production of glass fibers. Typical raw materials include silica sand or “glass making sand” (for silica),
china clay (for alumina), limestone (for calcium oxide), boric acid (for boric oxide), dolomite (for
magnesia), etc. Handling of these raw materials is done either in batch mode or in continuous mode.
Proper care is needed to drive away impurities from the raw materials. Individual materials are weighed
as per the desired product recipe, mixed thoroughly, and introduced into a furnace. The furnace typically
consists of three sections. The first section is the melting unit that receives and melts the mix of raw
materials at high temperature. The temeperature of glass melting depends upon the composition and it can
be around 1500°C. Homogenization of the melt takes place in the first section and then the melt goes to
the second section where cooling, refining, and further take place. In the final section, the temperature is
further reduced to a level of glass fiber formation.

A platinum—rhodium alloy tank called bushing is used in the fiber-forming stage. It has numerous tiny
nozzles of 1—2 mm diameter. The bushing is electrically heated so as

Glass melting
at1250—l550°C

Mixer

Rawmaterials
mixing

Rawmaterialsweighing High-speedwinder to control the drawing temperature o1 the molten glass that
flows, usually under gravity,through thesenozzles and fibers areformed.Thesearevery rapidly
cooled,collected,andpulledatahighspeedbyarotatingdrum.Inthisprocess,thefibersaresolidifiedandelongated,
andfiberdiameterreducestoabout5—20{inn.

Application of sizing: Glass fibers are abrasive in nature and they need protectivemeasure for
avoidingfiber breakage duringcollectionon the rotating drum,packag-ing, and also during subsequent
weaving operations. For this, within millisecondsofsolidifying, glass fibers are coated with certain sizing
solutions by an applicator roller.The sizing helps in improving adhesionwithin the individual filaments as
well as withtheresinsystem.

All the sectors in the glass fiber market. Common usage of E-glass fibers includes carbody parts, wind mill
blades, consumer goods such as chairs, tables, desert air coolerbody, storage tanks, pipes, different types of
boats, etc. Other specific applicationsinclude radomes (D-glass), storage tanks and pipes in highly corrosive
environment(C-glass), reinforced concrete (AR-glass), military applications (S-glass),
aerospacevehicleparts(highsilicaglass),etc.

CarbonFibers
Carbon fibers are very thin fibers of 5—15 {im diameter and composed primarily
ofcarbon(morethan929abyweight).

TypesofCarbonFiber

As indicated in carbon fibers can be classified in different ways [24]. Carbonexists in crystalline, quasicrystalline,
and amorphous forms. In the amorphous form,the carbon fibers are isotropic in nature and low in modulus
and strength. Generalpurpose (GP) carbon fibers are of this category. High performance carbon fibers
arecrystalline, anisotropic in nature and they exhibit hip•h modulus and strength.
Activatedcarbonfiberscontainnumeroussurfacemicropores.

Amorecommonlyusedmethodofclassificationofcarbonfibersistousetensilemodulus andstrengthas
thebasis.Modulus andstrengthofcarbonfibers varyinarather wide range. Theoretical modulus of single-crystal
graphite is 1000 GPa and car-bon fibers of extremely high modulus (nearly 900 GPa) have been produced.
Carbonfibersofelasticmodulusintherangeof500—900GPaaregenerallyreferredtoasultra-
highmoduluscarbonfibers.Ultra-highmodulus,highmodulus,andintermediatemoduluscarbon fibersare
anisotropicin structure andmodulusis directlyproportionalto the degree of anisotropy. These fibers exhibit very
high tensile strength as well.Thesearehighperformance
carbonfibers.Lowmodulusfibersarealsooflowstrengthandthesefibers areisotropicinstructure.

Carbon fibers are manufactured using primarily three different types of precursormaterials—polyacrylonitrile
(PAN), pitch, and rayon. From this angle, we have threetypes of carbon fibers—PAN based, pitch based, and
rayon based. Pitch precursorsused can be both isotropic as well as anisotropic (mesophase pitch). PAN-based
andmesophasepitch-basedcarbonfibersarehighlyanisotropicinstructureandtheyareofhigh modulus and strength.
Isotropic pitch-based and rayon-based carbon fibers exhibitrelativelylowermodulusandstrength. During
manufacture of carbon fibers, the fibers are subjected to heat treatment atdifferent stages. Based on the
final heat treatment temperature, carbon fibers can beclassified into high-heat-treatment carbon fibers
(Type I), intermediate-heat-treatmentcarbon fibers (Type II), and low-heat-treatment carbon fibers (Type
III). These threetypes are associated with high modulus, high strength, and low
modulus/strength,respectively.

ProductionofCarbonFiber

Carbon fibers can be produced from almost any material that contains carbon; how-ever, only three
precursor materials are used commercially. Thcse are PAN, pitch, andrayon. Although these source
materials are different from each othcr, the basic stages
inthemanufactureofcarbonfibersremainthesame.Thesestagesarespinning,stabilization, carbonization, and
sizing. For achieving higher modulus, an
additionalstageofgraphitizationisoptionallyaddedaftercarbonization.
PAN-BasedCurhon-there

PAN is the most widely used source material for carbon fiber. The primary
stagesinvolvedinthemanufactureofPAN-basedcarbonfibersareasfollows(Figure9.3):

• Polymerization
• Spinning
• Stabilization
• Carbonization
• Graphitization
• Surfacetreatmentandsizing

Surfacetreatmentandsizing

Thefirststageinthemanufactureofcarbonfiberisaprocessofpolymerization,during which a monomer called

acrylonitrile (a colorless or yellowish liquid chemicalcompound,CH 2=CH—
N)isreactedwithanappropriatecomonomer.Polymerizationmethods used are solution polymerization and
solvent-water suspension polymeriza-tion.TheresultantproductisthePANpolymer(CH2=CH—
N),.Itisawhitesolid/semisolid material with melting temperature of about 350°C. However, it has a
muchlowerglasstransitiontemperatureofabout80°Canditdegradespriortomelting.

PAN is converted into PAN fibers by adopting different textile spinning methodssuch as wet spinning, dry
spinning, melt-assisted spinning, etc. The process of spinninginvolves forcinga PAN polymer solutionto pass
througha large number of tiny holes inasteelplate,calledaspinneret.ThePANfiberstypicallyhaveadiameterof10—
20kmanddensityofL17g/cm'.Thesefibershaveastructureoforientedlargemolecules.

Thenextstageinthecarbonfibermanufacture isstabilization,during whichthePAN fibers are stretchedand heatedto

about I 80—300°Cin an oxidizing environment. In the process of stabilization ,the molecules get further oriented
and cross-linked. As a result, the stabilizedfibersdo not decompose during pyrolysis athighertemperatures.

Stabilization is followed by carbonization.Itinvolvesheatingthefibersuptoatemperature of about 1000—l700°C in an

inert atmosphere. The resultant fibers are rich incarbon content (up to about 959a) and lighter. Further, the fibers
shrink in diameter,butnot in the longitudinal direction. In this process, the molecules get further oriented
andimprovedmechanicalpropertiesareresulted.Carbonization is optionally followed by graphitization for
producing very highmodulus carbonfibers.Inthiscase,thefibers arestretchedandheateduptoabout1500—
2800°Cinaninertatmosphere.

The final stage in the carbon fiber manufacture is surface treatment and applicationof a suitable sizing. The
sizing helps minimize fiber damage during spooling,handling, and subsequent composite processing operations
suchas prepregging, winding,etc.
Carbon fiber from Pitch

Pitchisathermoplasticmaterialofcomplexmixtureofaromatichydrocarbons.Itismadetypicallyfromcertainby-
productsofpetroleumandcoal-processingindustry.Typical sources for making bulk pitch for carbon fiber
manufacturing are petroleumasphalt, coal tar, and PVC. These raw materials contain certain solid
impurities; theseare removed for making proper pitch and subsequent quality carbon fiber. Two types
ofpitches are used for making carbon fiber—isotropic pitch and anisotropic (mesophasepitch). Refined
pitch is modified, in respect of molecular weight and chemical composi-tion,by differentmethods and
isotropic pitch is obtained.Anisotropicpitchisobtainedby different methods involving heat treatment above
300°C of isotropic pitch. It con-tainsaliquidcrystalphaseintheformofdropletscalledmesophase.Stages of
pitch-based carbon fiber manufacture are similar to those for PAN-basedcarbon fiber. However, the
spinning methods and other process parameters such
asheattreatmenttemperature,rateofheating,tension,etc.aredifferent.Mostcommonlyusedmethodforspinning
ofpitchismeltspinning. Spun fibers aretypicallystabilizedat 250—350°C in an
oxidizingenvironment.Stabilization is followedby carbonizationat 700—2000°C in an inert atmosphere.
Carbonization chamber provides for gradualincrease in temperature during which volatile products are
released. Carbonization is optionally followed by graphitization in an inertatmosphereat2000—3000°C.

CarbonFiberfromRayon

Rayon fibers of different grades are used for making carbon fibers. Manufacturingcycleof.rayon-based carbon
fibers is very similar to PAN-based carbon fibers. Stabilization ofrayo fibers is a low-temperature
decomposition process at temperature below 400°C.During the initial heat treatment up to 125°C, adsorbed
water is removed. Heat treatment environment can be either inert or reactive. An oil bath is used for removal of
tarry prod-ucts. Little or not ensionis applied to the ray on fibers during stabilization as tensioning is note
ffective in ray on fibers at low temperatures.Carbonizationofstabilizedfibersiscarriedoutat1000—
1500°Cinaninertatmosphere. Stretching is found to be effective during carbonization in improving
mechanical properties. For further improvement in mechanical properties, graphitization is carried out at
2500° C under appropriatetension.

FormsofCarbonFiberReinforcements

ContinuouscarbonfibersareavailableinID,2D,and3D
forms.TowsandyarnsareID,fabricsare2D,andpreformsare3Dinform.Inadditiontothese,carbonfibersarealso
available as discontinuous reinforcements (staple fibers). Some of the
importantformsofcarbonfibersarebrieflyexplainedin.
PropertiesofCarbonFibersCarbon fibers possess excellent mechanical and physical properties that make
themunique in the field of aerospace composites. Some of the highly useful properties
ofcarbonfibersandcarbonfibercompositesareasfollows:

• Hightensilemodulusandstrength
• Lowdensity
• Highspecifictensilemodulusandstrength
• Excellentcreepandfatiguecharacteristics
• Excellentcorrosionresistance
• Excellentthermalstability
• LowCTE
• Highelectricalandthermalconductivity

increasing acceptance in other sectors such as automobile, sports, marine, biomedical,etc. High
performance at low weight is a critical requirement in the aerospace sector,for which CFRP products are
highly suitable. Typical applications of CFRP in theaerospace sectors are primary and secondary
structures of civilian as well as militaryaircrafts, motor case, nozzle, airframe structures of space vehicles,
satellite parts, etc.In the automobile sector, carbon fibers are used for making parts such as
automobilebodies, gears, bearings, cams, etc. Another major consumer of carbon fibers is thesporting
goods sector; common sporting goods made by carbon fibers are golf club,bicycleframe,tennisracket,etc.

Aramid Fibers

Aramids are a type of genericorganic material made from polyamides. Broadly,they belong to the nylon
family; however, they are different from the common
nylon.Commonnylonisanaliphaticpolyamidecontainingamide—carboxylicbonds.Aramids, too, contain
amide—carboxylic bonds; but they have an aromatic ring struc-ture. Aramid fibers are a class of high
performance fibers that exhibit good chemicaland thermal stability, high toughness, and exceptional
tensile strength and modulus.The high performance characteristics of aramid fibers are attributed to the
aromaticringstructure.

TypesofAramidFibers:

Aramids can be divided into two types—para-aramids and meta-aramids [33]. Theterms para and meta
refer to the position of the carboxylic and amine groups in themonomer ring. Para-aramid has a
symmetric structure with the bonds at 180° to eachother. On the other hand, in the meta-aramids, the
bonds are at 120°. A number ofcommercial brands are available under these two types of aramids. Some
of the com-monaramidfibersareKevlar"andNomex°fromDupont,Teijinconex"andTechnora"from Teijin,
and Twaron" from Akzo. Kevlar is one ofthe oldest aramid fibers, andit, together with its different
varieties, is also the most popular aramid fiber. CommonKevlarfibersareKevlar,Kevlar-29,Kevlar-49,Kev1ar-
68,Kev1ar-129,andKev1ar-149.

ProductionofAramidFibers

There are broadly two stages in the production of aramid fibers—polymer prepara-tion and fiber
preparation. The base polymer for para-aramid is poly-p-phenylene tere-phthalamide (PPD-T). PPD-T is
prepared by polycondensation of p-phenylene diamine(PPD) and terephthaloyl chloride (TCI) in an amine
solvent at low temperature. Para-aramid fiber is produced by extruding and spinning an anisotropic
solution of PPD-Tin concentrated sulfuric acid. There are two spinning methods available: wet
spinningprocess and dry-jet spinning process. The basic process involves spinning the crystal-line
solution at high temperature in a spinneret followed by coagulating it in a quenchbath. In this process, the
hot polymer solution gets oriented and continuous fiber isformed, and the coagulated fiber is further
washed, dried, heat-treated, and finally,collected on a rotating bobbin for packaging. In the wet-spinning
process, the spin-neret is kept right inside the coagulation liquid. This process is associated with
certaindrawbacks, which are overcome in the dry-jet spinning process. In the dry-jet spinningprocess, the
spinneret is kept at a distance above the coagulating liquid. The air
gapbetweenthespinneretnozzleandthecoagulatingliquidhelpsachievehigherdegreeofstructural alignment and
resultant higher mechanical fiber properties. showsschematicrepresentationofthedry-jetspinningprocess.
The base polymer for meta-aramid is MPD-I (poly-m-phenylene isophthalamide).MPD-
Iispreparedbypolycondensationofm-phenylenediamineandisophthaloyl
NontraditionalMachiningofFRPs
As the demand on high performance composites increases, stronger, stiffer, and harder reinforcement materials
areintroduced into modern advanced composite structures. This makes the secondary machining of these
materialsincreasingly. The stacked nature of most fiber-reinforced compositesmakes them also susceptible to
debonding between the individual plies as well as within the same ply. Under certaincircumstances traditional
machining may become extremely difficult even when diamond cutting tools are utilized.Therefore, tool
geometry, tool materials, and operating conditions must be adapted in order to reduce heat generation,tool wear,
and the mechanical and thermaldamagesto the workpiece.This may lead to operating conditions that
areimpractical because of tool low material removal rates (MRRs), frequent tool changes, or unacceptable
levels ofdelamination. Under these circumstances, nontraditional machiningprocess may become the onlyviable and
economicalmethod for machining difficult-to-machine composites. Nontradi- tional machining processes
include waterjet (WJ),abrasive waterjet (AWJ), abrasive suspension jet (ASJ), laser and laser-assisted
machining, ultrasonic machining, andelectrical discharge machining (EDM). Among this wide range of
processes, only AWJ, laser, and EDM of FRPcomposites have received considerable attention in the literature.
This chapter provides an overview of the technologyusedin each one of these processes, its influencing
parameters, and its feasibility for machiningFRPs.
Course Outcomes Mapped to Module I:

Students will be able to:

Blooms
CO Course Outcomes
taxonomy
CO 7 List different metals used in construction of metal Remember
matrices of composites for choosing appropriate
matrix composite fabrication technique.
CO 8 Classify different types of polymers used in thermoset Understand
plastics based on their characteristic properties for
choosing applications of thermosetting resins.

Program Outcomes Mapped to Module I:

Program Outcomes
PO 1 Engineering knowledge: Apply the knowledge of mathematics, science,
engineering fundamentals, and an engineering specialization to the solution
of complex engineering problems.
PO 2 Problem analysis: Identify, formulate, review research literature, and
analyze complex engineering problems reaching substantiated conclusions
using first principles of mathematics, natural sciences, and engineering
sciences

Mapping of CO(s) With PO(s) for Module I:

Course Program Outcomes

Outcomes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

CO 7 √

CO 8 √
 UNIT IV

Abrasive Water jet Machining

Currently AWJs are used to cut a wide range of engineering materials including ceramics, metal alloys,
andcomposites. There are many distinct advantages of AWJ cutting which makes it desirable over other tradi-
tional andnontraditional machining processes. AWJ can virtually cut any material without any significant
heat damage
ordistortion.Becausethecuttingforcesareverysmallandnocuttingtoolsarerequired,thesetuptimeisshorterthantrad
i- tional machining processes and lixturing requirements are either very minimal or not required at all.
Dependingon the CNC machine tool capabilities, it is possible to cut two-dimensional contours and even
complex three-
dimensionalshapeswithAWJ.Finally,AWJisoneofthemostenvironmentallyfriendlymaterialremovalprocesses.It
requires no cutting fluids and generates no fumes or harmliil waste as compared to traditional machining. The
usedwater and abrasives can be either recycled or disposed off naturally. Nevertheless, there are some limitations to
cutting withAWJs. The initial capital investment is generally high in comparison to other nontraditional and
conventional machinetools. The operating cost is high as well. This includes the cost of abrasives and other
expensive wear parts that areroutinely replaced, such as the orifice and mixing tube. The waterjet traveling at
supersonic speeds generatesconsiderably higher noise than other nontraditional machining pro- cesses such as laser
cutting and EDM. Being a modernmanufacturing process, AWJ machining is not yet well developed so that it can be
exploited to its fullest potential.
ThefollowingsectionsdiscussthecapabilitiesofAWJsystemsandtheirapplicationinmachiningFRPs.

TechnologyOverview
AnAWJsystemutilizesahigh-speedwaterjettoaccelerateabrasiveparticlesat extremelyhighspeeds(450—720m/s)so
that it will erode the workpiece material at impact. A typical AWJ system layout is shown in Fig. 6.1. To form
awaterjet,water is pressuredup to 400 MPa and expelled through a sapphire or diamond nozzle (0.1—0.4 mm in
diameter)toformafinewaterjetataspeedthatapproaches900mls.Atthisspeed,thisplainwaterjetcanbeusedtocutmaterialss
uch as plastics, paper products, cloth, wood, and some advanced composites. To enhance its cutting per-
formance,abrasives are mixed in the waterjet in a special mixing chamber as shown in Fig. 6.2. The waterjet
creates a vacuumwhich sucks the abrasives from the abra- sive ports and mixes it in the mixing chamber. The
abrasive particles areacceleratedbythewaterjetbuttotheexchangeofmomentumenergy,andafocusedAWJisproduced,
whosediameterisin
theorderofthenozzlediameter.AttheheartofanAWJsystemisareciprocatingplungerpump,alsocalledinten-sifier, which
is driven by pressurized oil from a hydraulic pump. The intensifier increases the water pressure ratiobetween the
low pressure oil to the high pressure water by up to 40 times. A high pressure vessel accumulator is usedto produce
uniform water flow and attenuate output pressure variations. High pressure water is delivered to the
nozzlethroughspecialhighpressuretubingandswivelconnectors.Atthenozzle,abrasivesareintroducedandtocreate
anAWJreadyforcutting the abrasives most commonly used are garnet of mesh sizes 16—b0. Other harder
abrasives such as aluminum oxideand silicon oxide are also used to cut exotic alloys and ceramics. AWJ is
delivered through a mixing tube that istypicallymade from a special grade tungsten carbide.This part of the
nozzle wears frequently and has to be replacedin order to maintain a cohesive and focused waterjet. The motion
of the nozzle is typically handled by CNC-controlled two-axes structure. Robotic arm manipulators are also
common for three-dimensional positioning and control. Part of the jet energy is dissipating in cutting the
workpiece material. Once the jet has exited the cut,
theenergyisdissipatedintothecatchtank,whichisusuallymillofwateranddebrisirompreviouscuts[1,2].

AWJ Process Parameters:

AWJ machining is a complex process that is characterized by a large number of process parameters that
determineefficiency, economy, and quality of the whole process. The shear magnitude of these influencing
parameters makesitextremelydifficultto analyze and predict the performance of AWJ machining.Generally,the
parameters that affectan AWJ system are divided into four groups, namely hydraulic parameters (waterjet pressure, water
flow rate), mixingparameters (mixing tube diameter and length), abrasive parameters (abrasive particle size and
shape, abra- sivematerial, abrasive flow rate) and cutting parameters (traverse speed, standoff distance, inclination
angle) [3].
Thefirstthreegroupsarerelatedtothesystemhardware,whilethefourthgroupisrelatedtotheapplicationofAWJin a
partic- ular machining operation. The target most important parameters (outcomes) of themachining processare the
depth of cut, cutting rate, kerf width, surface topogra- phy and delamination. The significance of AWJprocess
parameters on machining results is summarized in the Table 6.1. The same parameters are also indicated inFig.
6.2. The effect of pressure, orifice diameter, and abrasive flow rate on MRR and depth of cut is obvious.
Increasing the pressure and reducing orifice diameter result in increasing the jetspeed (momentumenergy),and
hence, when coupled with sufficient abrasive flow rate it would allow for an increased cutting activity of

Process Capabilities
Today’s AWJs can cut through a wide range of materials and thicknesses and obtain reasonable tolerances
and surface roughness. Quality of the cut surface in terms of kerf width, taper, and surface roughness
depends oncutting (traverse) speed, abra- sive flow rate, and workpiece material. Figure 6.3 shows the
relationship between cutting speed and
workpiecethicknessforseveralaerospacematerials[4,5].Thegeneraltrendforthematerials shown is that at
sufficiently small jet traverse speeds large thickness of the material can be cut. Thethickness rapidly
decreases with an increase in cutting speed. Although it is technically possible to cut steel asthick as 250 mm,
 this cutting is not practical because the cutting time is very long and the cut quality is poor.The practical limit
for cutting steel and titanium in production is about 50 mm [6]. The dimensional tolerancesand surface
finishes also depend on thickness and cutting speed. The tolerance range that can be held on smallparts

'0'

10

’6’ ;v

0.5 1 5 10 50 100

Material Removal Mechanisms

The material removal processes in AWJ machining are considered in two scales, namely micro- and macro
processes.The microprocesses are concerned with the behavior of abrasive particle as it impacts the target surface at high
velocities.Mat rial removal in this scale occurs by solid particle impact erosion which results from one or more of the
followingprocesses:microcutting,fatigue,melting,andbrittlefracture.Thecontributionofeachparticularerosionprocessdepends
on several fac- tors, such as impact angle, particle kinetic energy, particle shape, target-material properties,
andenvironmentalconditions.Nevertheless,allfourmechanismsareobservedduringtheAWJcutting.Ontheotherhand,ma
cromaterial removal pro- cesses are concerned with kerf formation as a result of the jet behavior, its char-
acteristics,andthecontrollingprocessparameters.Belowabriefdiscussionofthemostrelevantmaterialremovalproces
ses to our subject will be given. The reader is encouraged to consult the relevant work in the literature formore
in-depth considerationof the subject of erosion by AWJ.
Micro mechanisms of Material Removal
The type of erosion mechanism responsible for material removal by solid particle impact is ultimately influenced by
the workpiece material and abrasive particle properties. For ductile materials ,micro cutting and ploughing deformation
processes are considered the most significant while brittle materials erosion is believed to occur by brittle fracture. Is a
schematic representation of some erosion processes. Microcutting occurs by the impact of sharp abrasive particle at
sufficiently small impact angle. The particle is driven by its momentum energy to indent the panic and then follow a
trajectory that results in removing tiny chip(alsocalledlip),in a similar way to single point cutting tools. The
particle track is later removed by other impacting particles. The process is purely a result of plastic deformationof
the material ahead of the impacting par- ticle. The volume of material removed by the abrasive particle is
afunction of its kinetic energy, angle of impact, and the target material’s flow stress. It increases by an increase
inparticle mass and speed and a decrease in the flow stress. This mech- anism is more likely to occur at shallow
impactangles and for particles with sharp edges. For impact angles approaching 90° a cutting trajectory ceases to
exist andonly indentation by plastic deformation occurs. For spherical particles, ploughing deformation dominates
thematerialsremovalprocess.Theerosionmech-
anismforbrittlematerialsisgovernedbyindentationfracturemechanicsthrough the formation, propagation, and interaction
of microcracksThe MRR is controlled by the depth ofparticle penetration, crack-formation geometry (depth, length),
and interaction. SEM examination of kerf surfaces ofaluminum, titanium, and steel alloys have shown evidence of the
occurrence of microcuttingand plough- ing during AWJ machining.Evidence of mixedmaterial-removal modesthat consist
of brittle fracture and plastic deformation have been identified inAWJmachiningofceramics.
Macromechanism ofMaterialRemoval (KerfFormation)
The macroscopic interaction of the AWJ with the workpiece material is responsible for kerf formation and
ultimatelygross material removal and cutting. Geometry of the cutting front, width and depth of the kerf, and
topography of thegenerated surface are the important characteristics of the AWJ erosive process. Figure 6.5
illustrates the generalprocess of AWJ cutting as viewed inside a transparent plastic block by high speed
photography [8]. As the jet travelsalong the x-direction, it undergoes three stages of development. At the
beginning, the jet approaches the surfaceparallel to its axis. With the increase in depth of cut, the local impact
angle increases and the jet bends. The initial (ordevelopment) stage takes place over a distance z, before the jet
reaches its maximum depth of cut. Beyond thisdistance, the cutting process proceeds in a cyclic manner. Steady-
state cutting occurs to an interface depthc› below which a step of the material appears to move under the impact
of the jet until it reaches the final depthh. The zone above he is termed the cutting wear zone, in which the material is
removed primarily by microcuttin gaction
The step formation below he is termed the deformation zone, in whichmaterialisremovedbyplasticdeformation
wear due to impact at large angles. A certain critical impact angle marks the transition from thesteady-state
cutting wear regime to the deformation wear regime. In the deformation wear zone, marked with depth 3d. the
jet penetratesthe material at a decreasing rate as the depth is increased. The material
removalmodeinthiszoneiscausedbyplasticdeformation,surfacehardening,andcrackformationthatare
allassociated with particle bombardment. The characteristic feature of the surface is waviness due to
striationscaused by jet instabilities. As the jet approaches the exit edge of the workpiece, an uncut triangle is
formed. The height of the triangle approximately marks the steady-state zonedepth, For
totalseparationoftheworkpiece,theworkpiece thickness should be equal to or less than fi,. Increasing the
traverse speed will decrease the depth ofcutting wear zone, and over a critical traverse speed the kerf will be
generated only by deformation wear erosion.

AWJKerfCharacteristics

The kerf geometry obtained by AWJ cutting is schematically illustrated in Fig. 6.6, and is characterized by
kerfsurfacetopography(roughness,waviness), kerfwidth,AbrasiveWaterjetMachining

Bottomsurface

Kerf geometryis animportant outcome ofAWJcuttingbecauseitlimits the process capability for achievingthe desired
tolerances and surface finish require- ments. The previous discussion has pointed out the existence of
twodistinctzonesonthekerfsurface,namelythecuttingwearzone(alsocalledsmoothcuttingzone)anddeformationwearzone
(also called rough cutting zone). Further studies on AWJ cutting of ceramicsand fiber-reinforced
polymers(FRPs)indicatedthe existenceof a third distinct zone at the top of the kerf, called the initial damage zone.
This zone ischaracterized by roundness of the top corners at the jet entrance. Material removal in this zone occurs by
deformationduetothenormalimpactofstrayparticlesatthejetperiphery[12,13].Eachofthethreeregionsdiscussedabovevari
esinsizedepending ontheselectionofcuttingparameters.
The initial damage zone is characterized by the depth and width (Dd and Dz, respectively) of roundness of the
topcornersofthekerfasshowninFig.6.6.Itsinfluencedprimarilybystandoffdistance,pressure,traversespeed,andmeshsize.
Anincreaseinthestandoffdistanceandadecreaseinthepressureresultingreaterroundnessofthekerfcorners.Thisisappa
rentlyduetotheincreaseinjetdiameteranddecreaseinjetcohesionwiththeseparametersSurfacewavinessiscausedbyinstabil
itiesinthecuttingprocessduetothejetlosingitsenergywithincreasingdepthofcut.Therefore,theamplitudeofwavinessincrea
seswithanincreaseindepthofcut.Surfacewavinessiscriticallydependenton the steadiness of the dynamic process
parameters such as traverse speed, pressure, and abrasive flow rate. Anincrease in cutting speed and a decrease in
abrasive flow rate generally result in an increase in surface waviness.Waviness is also affected by the
machinability of the target material. Hard-to-machine materials such as ceramics
arelesssusceptibletowavinessasaresultofchangesinthedynamicprocessparametersthansoftmaterials.
KerfwidthandtaperareinfluencedbytheAWJstructure(whichisafunctionofpumppressureandstandoffdistance),

the traverse speed, and to a lesser extent by abrasive flow rate. Cutting speed has the most significant influence on top
kerfwidth where an increase in cutting speeds results in a decrease in kerf width. Increasing pump pressure and
standoffdistance almost linearly increases top kerf width. This was found to be the general behavior for ductile
materials
andFRPs[S,13].Kerftaper,whichisdescribedbytheratioofkerfwidthatjetentrance(+t)andexit(lit,)isgeneratedbecaus
e the jet loses its cutting efficiency with depth. Kerf taper increases with an increase in traverse speed and
anincreaseingritsize.Inpractice,thetraversespeedisusedtocontrolthekerfwallstraightness.Thetraversespeedisreduce
d until straight walls are produced [12].Surface roughness in the smooth cutting zone is mainly dependent
onabrasive particle size. The smaller the particle size, the better is the surface roughness. It was also reported
thatincreasingthetraversespeedresultinanincreaseinsurfaceroughnessforseveraltargetmaterials.Theincreasednum
berofimpactingparticlesat lowtraversespeedsaccountsfor theimprovement insurface roughness.

AWJMachiningCharacteristicsofFRPS:
AWJ machining is a widely used process in industry because of its obvious adva tages. Some of the
advantagesincludehighlinearcuttingspeeds(mayreachfourtimesthatoftraditionalcutting)andtheabsenceofheataffe
ctedzone (HAZ). shows typical cutting speeds (traverse speeds) and thickness relationships for some composites
andaerospace materials. It is shown that cutting speeds as high as 2,400 m/min may be used to cut effectively CFRP
andGFRPthinparts(6mmthick).Thisrepresentstremendousproductivitygainsovertraditionaltrimmingmethods.Somelim
itations of AWJ machining have also been identified. At high cutting speeds, steady-state cut (cutting wear
zone)may not be achieved, delamination are introduced into the workpiece; when composites containing aramid
fibers arecut, fraying of the fibers can occur, and in some cases moisture absorption can lead to delamination
under load.Several studies have reported on the machining characteristics of fiber-reinforced composites using
AWJ.Thesestudiesdescribethemachining outcomes interms ofkerfwidth,taper,surfaceroughness,anddelamination.

AbrasiveWaterjetMachining
MaterialRemovalMechanisms

The material removal mechanism in plainwaterjet machiningofunidirectionalgraphite fiber-reinforced

epoxylaminates wasinvestigatedin. AWJmachiningof unidirectional and multidirectional
graphite/epoxywasinvestigated in [13—15].In these studies, scanning electron microscopy was used to examine
the kerf surfaceand conclusions were made as to the possible mechanisms of material removal. Figure 6.7
shows
SEMphotomicrographsofplainwaterjetmachinedsurfacesforfiberorientations0°,45°,and90°.Thesepicturesreveal
the absenceofsupport-ing matrix from between the fibers. The fiber ends of the 45° and 90°
clearlyshowevidenceofshearfracture.Shearfailurewasevidentfromtheresincuspsvisibleonthekerffibers.
Microbending and fracture of fibers was also observed, particularly near the jet exit. This suggests that
fractureis the primary mode of materialremoval in plain waterjetmachining ofunidirectional composites.
Fracture ofthefibers occurs after the supportingbinder phase is eroded from betweenthe fibers.It is also
suggestedthatthisisthemechanismofmaterialremovalinallareasof thekerfsurfacesincenodistinct
differencesinweartopographywerenotedatdif-
ferentdepths.Inthemacroscopicscale(photosnotshown)themachinedsurfacesofthe45°and90°laminatesincludedst
riationsoutliningthebenterosionpathofthewaterjet.Striationsweremore pronounced for the 45° laminate and near
theexit zone ofthe jet andwere alwaysfollowedbya
highdegreeofdelamination,fiberpullout,andmatrixcrackingalongthefiber/matrix
interface.Thefiberpulloutoccurred for fiber bundles at a time leaving large cavities in the machined surface.
Onthe otherhand,the 0°laminate didnot exhibitstriationsor large fiberbun-dles pullout. Fiber rollout instead was
the dominant wearform giving the surface acomigatedroof appearance. Fiber rollout appears to be a
postmachiningphenom-enacausedbyhigh-
pressurejetforcesactingontheexposedfiberswithinthekerfwalls.Incidentjetpressuredislodgesthefiberswhichhaveb
eenfracturedorpartiallydisbandedfromthematrix.Rolloutdescribesthefinalremovalofthe
fibersfromthesurfaceleavingpocketsinthematrix.Thesepocketswouldoccasionallycontain resin cusps attributed
to shear failure between the fibers and the matrix .Three macroregions
wereidentifiedalongthekerfsurfaceinAWJmachiningofgraphite/epoxymultidirectionallaminates[13,15].Thesere
gionswithdistinct

(a)0° (b)45” (c)90°

Fig. Appearance of water jet machined surface of unidirectional graphite/epoxy composite. Material = IM-6/3501-6, Yt= 0.65,
thickness = 5mm, pressure = 240MPa, staiidoff = 1.0mm, traverse speed = 1.6mm/s, nozzle diameter = 1.0mm[14]

10 jtm
(a)Initialdamage (b)Initialdamage

10pm 10/tm
surface features are shown schematically in Fig. 6.6 and were called the initial dam- age region (IDR), smooth
cuttingregion(SCR)androughcuttingregion(RCR).Discussionofthemicrofeaturesandpossiblematerial
removalmechanisms in these regions is given next. Their macrofeatures will be discussed in the following sec-
tions.Micrographs of typical kerf surfaces resulting from AWJ machining are shown in Fig. 6.b. The machined
surface
intheIDRappearedirregularwithbrokenfibers,fiberpullout,andlargepocketsofliberandmatrixremoved.Thesedama
ge features are believedto be caused by singularabrasive particles at the periphery of the AWJ. Theparticle
density at the jet periphery is low and their energy is high. Hitting the surface at almost normal angles ofattack,
these particles are capable of causing greater nonuniform damage as exhibited in the IDR. At
greatermagnification and at various depths of cut, the machined surface appears smoother and large pockets of
materialremovaldisappear.Thisisevidentinmicrographs(Fig.6.81›-
d)takenatdifferentdepthsonthekerfsurface.Themachined surface is generally dictated by broken fibers and fiber
pullout. Selec- tive removal of the binder matrix isnot apparent in these surfaces as it was the case in plain waterjet
machined surfaces (Fig. 6.7). Both fibers and matrixappear to be removed by the same microcutting action of the
abrasive particles in the AWJ. This results in smoothersurfaces and the absence of high degree material damage
due to delamination [14]. AbrasiveWaterjetMachining

material removal mode throughout the entire depth of cut, despite the macrovaria- tions in surface
topographythatareevidentintheRCRandtheSCR.ThissuggeststhattheformationofmacrofeaturesinAWJcuttingissolelya
product of the in here ntenergy of thejet
Macro features of AWJ Machined Surface
WJ cut surfaces show three characteristic regions: the rounded IDR, a SCR, and a wavy or striated
roughregion (RCR) as shown in Fig. 6.6. The relative extents of the three regions are highly dependent on
processparameters, and optimization of the AWJ cutting process for a particular material often involves proper
selec-tion of process parameters such that the SCR extends almost throughout the entire thickness [5].
Formation of IDR at the top of the kerfis caused by low density par-ticle concentration attheperipher of the jet
impacting thesurface at almost normal angles. It is characterized by small penetration craters caused by
singular particle impact and shallow abrasive wear tracks outlining the path of abrasives along the kerf wall.
Standoff distance is the most significant influencing parameter on IDR while the effect of other independent
parameters is negligible. In general, speci-mens machined with a low standoff distance exhibited
smallerIDR,whereashigherstandoffdistanceincreasedthedamagewidthanddepth.
The primary surface irregularity in the SCR, extending between IDR and RCR, is surface roughness.
Wavinessmay appear randomly, or because of irregularities in the traverse speed and unsteadiness of jet
pressure andabrasive feed rate. Surface roughness is due to minute wear tracks caused by the individual
abrasive particlesimpacting the kerf wall. The size of wear tracks depends on the size of abrasive particles and
their orientation isparallel to the jet direction. The orientation of wear tracks becomes more random with an
increase in depth and adecrease in abra- sive flow rate variation of the surface profile across the
machinedsurface at different depths from the kerf top for the first 10 mm kerf wall. The surface profiles clearly
show atransition from smooth surface in the SCR towavy surface in the RCR, with waviness amplitude
increasingwith an increase indepth.Surface roughness ismainly dependenton abrasiveparticle sizeand sup-
plypressure. Smaller surface roughness in the SCR was obtained by combinationsof small abrasive particle
sizeand low pressure. Similar findings were also reported in AWJ machining of glass/epoxy
bidirectionalcomposite laminates (5 mm thick) It was found that abrasive type is the most significant factor
affectingsurface roughness followed by hydraulic pressure and traverse speed, which have almost equal
significanteffects.Standoffdistance,abrasiveflowrate,andcuttingdirectionrelativetofiberorientationwerefoundtoh
aveinsignificant effects on sur- face roughne.s.s. The optimum cutting conditions (within the range of
parameterstested)intermsofaverageainbothSCRandRCRregionswereobtainedforaluminumoxideabrasive,276M
Pasupplypressure(highlevel),1.5mm/straverserate(lowlevel),1.5mmstando”Itdistance(lowlevel),and7.5g/sabrasi
veflowrate(highlevel).The conditions that promote good surface finish are those associated with high abrasive
kinetic energy and small abrasive size. Low, medium, and high are designated levels of the cuttingparameters in a
design of experiments study using Taguchi’s method [17]. Even though the effect of supply pressure may be in
contrast tothefindingsin,thisdisagreementisapparentlyattributedtothemeasurementdomaininbothstudies.
The effect of abrasive flow rate and traverse speed on surface roughness in AWJ cutting of
multidirectionalgraphite/epoxy laminate(4 mm thick). The figure shows results of surface roughnessmeasurements
0.5 mm from the jet entrance and exit on the machined surface. It is evident that surface finish issmoother near
the jet entrance than the jet exit. At small traverse speeds, the roughness at entrance and exit is similar.But as the
traverse speed increases the surface finish near jet exit deteriorates. Abrasive flow rate and traverse speedappear to
have slight influence on roughness near the jet exit, but its influence is much greater near the jet exit.Surface
roughness near the jet exit increases with an increase in traverse speed and a decrease in abrasive flow
rate.Furthermore, the difference between entrance and exit surface roughness increases with an increase in abrasive
flowrate.
The length of SCR was most affected by abrasive particle size, jet pressure, and traverse speed.
Wavinessamplitude in the RCR was affected by a combination of pressure, traverse speed, and grit size while
waviness widthwaspri-marilyaffectedbythetraversecuttingspeed.
KerfWidthandTaper
KerfwidthishighlydependentonthestructureoftheAWJandthemachinabilityoftheworkpiece.Thejetspreadsoutasit exits the
mixing tube with the inner region of the jet having higher velocities and is convergent. Thus, it could cause a tapered
cut in relatively hard-to-machine materials. For softer materials,a largerportionof the jet will be effective
andkerfwidthwillbeeitherdivergent—
convergent,oronlydivergent,dependingonthickness[11].Thekerftapermaybedefinedastheratioofthekerfwidthatinlet (
+t)tothekerfwidthatexit(Jft,),Parametricstudyoftheinfluenceofprocessparametersonkerfwidthandtaperindicatedthatst
andoffdistancehasthelargestinfluenceonkerfwidthforshallowdepthsofcut.Withanincreaseincuttingdepth,theeffectoftra
versespeedonkerfwidthincreases,aswellastheeffectofothervariables.Formaterialthicknessgreaterthan8mm,kerfwidthis
affected equally by pressure, traverse speed, and grit size while the effect of standoff distance became insignificant.
Kerftaper was controlled primarily by stando”It distance for material thickness less than 5 mm. As the cutting depth
increased,the effect of grit size on kerf taper became more prominent. At greater depth of cut both standoff distance
and grit sizehave significant influence of kerf taper. A regression model for the profile of the cut kerf in AWJ
machining ofgraphite/epoxy multidirectional laminates is reported in [13]. The model provided good correlation
with experimentalresults (fi2 = 0.97). Figure 6.10 shows the influence of standoff distance and traverse speed on kerf
width at entranceand exitasevaluatedbythe regressionmodel. Entrance kerfwidth increaseswithan increase in
standoff distance,whereas exit kerf width appears to have only slight changes. This is mainly attributed to the
divergence of theAWJwith increased distance from the mixing tube exit. The exit kerf width decreases
significantly with anincrease in traverse speed whereas the entrance kerf width appears to have only slight changes
(Fig. 6.11c, d). Thelimited effect of traverse speed on entrance kerf width is justi- fied by the high energy of the
AWJ beforepenetration. This energy is high enough to cause stable material removal at shallow depths
regardless of thetraversespeed. As the jet loses much of its energy near exit, its ability to remove material
becomes moreinfluencedby thetraversespeed.

AbrasiveWaterjetMachining

Figure shows the influence of grit size, traverse speed, and pressure on kerf taper ratio as calculated by Kerf
taperincreases with a decrease in abrasive panicle size,an increase in traversespeed,and a decrease in
pressure.Thevariation in kerf taper with traverse speed appears to be more significant at low level of the cutting
parameters than atmedium or high levels. This has to do with the rate of dissipation of jet energy with cutting
depth at this level ofparameters. The low pressure causes low jet speed and less kinetic energy for the particles. Jet
diversion is greater atlarger stando”It distance and its ability to produce taper increases. Finally, smaller size abrasive
particles lose their kineticenergy faster than larger paniclesbecause of their small mass. Thus, all of these in combination
contribute to a greater rateofenergylosswithanincreaseindepthofcut.

Delamination

Delamination generally occurs when cutting layered composites with high-velocity water jets .Delamination is
also observed in AWJ cutting of compos- ites at high traverse speeds and low abrasive flow rate [14,
18].Itwassuggestedthat the most likely site for delamination isthe bottom of the laminate. It is argued, however,
that normal loading of the jet pressure is not the only cause ofdelamination[11, 16]. Lateral flow of the jetdue to
jet deflection by previously formedsteps on thekerfmay alsobe able to penetrate the weak interface between the
composite plies causing delamination. noted that all severe delamination’s have abrasive panicles wedged within
the delamination space. This may have been caused by lateral jet flow, noted that the occurrence of delamination in
waterjet machining is always accompanied by enhanced curvatureofthesurfacegroovesand
distinctincreaseinthesurfaceroughnessinthemiddleand bottom sections of the material. A sudden change in
penetration rate could also cause delamination. This occurswhen cutting coated materials, such as ceramic-coated
metal, or work pieces made of layered materials of differenthardness (steel-reinforced composites, liber- reinforced
composites). The jet penetrates the ceramic coating materialeasily, but deflects o”It the harder-to-penetrate substrate
at the ceramic metal interface, result- ing in cracking
andspallingoftheceramichaveshownthatdelaminationismorecloselyrelatedtotheresidualenergyinthewaterjet,whichinturnis
afunctionofthejetpressure.Itwasfoundthatdelaminationsizeincreases with an increase in traverse speed and a
decrease in hydraulic cpressure when cutting 4 mm thick CFRP laminate with waterjet. Figure shows polished cross
sections of graphite/epoxy laminates after machining with waterjet (a) and AWJ (b) [16].It is evident that severe
delamina- tion occurs throughout the entire laminate thickness when machining with
plainwaterjetsanditisnotconfinedtothelastpliesinthestructure.Thehigh-deflected

Crosssection

(a)Water jet machining (b)Abrasive Water jet machining

Jet pressure and the lack of cutting mechanisms in plain weterjet generate sufficient loading to separate the
compositeplies at the fiber—matrix interface. Figure 6.13b shows that both interlaminar and intralaminar
delamination of theexit plies occurs when AWJ machining of graphite/epoxy laminate. Abrasive particles
wedged in between thedelaminated plies resulted in visible out of plane delamination (bottom surface of specimen). The
delamination is larger inthick laminates, but is inde- pendent of thickness and is always confined to the bottom
two or three plies of thelaminate. Figure 6.14 shows the relationship between the extent of delamina- tion and
process parameters. It is clearthat increasing traverse speed and reducing abrasive flow rate increase the severity of
exit ply delamination. It is notedthattheseoperatingparametersalsoresultingeneratingwavinesspatternsonthebot-
tompanofthekerf.Underthese conditions the jet loses its ability to effectively cut the material at greater depths due
to low exposure time andless active abrasive panicles. Figure 6.14 shows that for a given set of cutting conditions
delamination occurs at acritical traverse rate. The traverse rate at which delamination occurs appears to be
independent of flow rate beyond athresholdflowrate.Forflowratesabove0.57kg/min,delaminationoccursatacriticaltraverse
speedof1.77m/minfora4-mmthicklaminateandat0.8m/minfor28.5-
mmthicklaminate[16].Konigetal.[19]havealsoreportedacriticaltraverse rate at which delamination occurs in waterjet
machining of hybrid aramid-glass FRP (thickness, 3 mm; jetpressure,350MPa;standoffdistance,2mm).

The critical traverse speed was approximately 1.0 m/min for nozzle diameter of 0.15 mm and 1.5 m/min for
nozzlediametersbetween0.175and0.25mm.
ModelingofAWJCutting
TheAWJ cuttingprocessisacomplexprocessthatisinfluencedbyseveralfactorsandparametersencompassinghardware,
process, and target material. It is highly desirable that the influence of these parameters on the performance ofAWJisunder-
stoodandthatpredictivemodelsareavailabletorelateinputsandoutputs.Suchmodelsareessentialforthe selection of optimum
process parameters for a given combination of hardware system and target material. Thereare a number of models in the
literature that attempt to predict the depth of cut achievable in different mate- rials cut byAWJ, kerf geometry, and machining
quality. These models are generally based on volume—displacement relationships [9,21], energy conservation princi- ple [18], or
regression analysis of experimental data [13]. Some of these models andtheir predictive capabilities are discussed here. An
extensive discussion of thesemodelsandmany othersis givenin[7].In general, models that are based on energy conservation
principles or volume— displacement relationship require thatthe waterjet velocity and the abrasive par- ticle velocity be
known. In AWJ cutting, the abrasive particles areaccelerated by exchange of momentum from the high-velocitywaterjet.
The theoreticalvelocity of the waterjetacceleratingthroughanorificeisobtainedfromBernoulli’slawas

<+=(2P/qp)''2,

whereP is the pressure and pz is the water density. In practice the actual jet velocity is lower than the
theoreticalvelocitybecauseoflossofmomentumduetowallfrictionandcompressibilityofwater.Theactualjetvelocityisgiven
by

Vj——Cy(2P/pp)" 2y

whereCisamomentumefficiencycoefficient.TypicalvaluesforCareintherange0.55<C<0.95.Theabrasiveparticlevelocityac
anberelatedtowaterjetvelocityVjUsing theexchangeofmomentumprincipleby

V1

where tj is a momentum transfer efficiency, <a is the abrasive panicle flow rate, and my is the waterjet flow rate.
Themomentumtransferefficiencyisafunctionofseveralprocessparametersincludingpumppressure,abrasivemassflowrate, abra-
sive particle characteristics, and orifice and mixing tube geometry. The value of tj is between 0.65 and 0.55.Experiments have
indicated that an optimum momentum transfer occurs in the range of medium pump pressures, smallabrasiveflow
rates,andlargemixingtubediameters.Thewater flowrateisgivenby
my=pCd—d§(2P/p)'' 2

whereCdisadischargecoefficientforthewaterjetorifice,
whosediameterisdz.Thiscoefficientistypicallybetween0.6<Cd<O.S
FIGURESchematic representation of dry-jet spinning process for aramid fiber manufacture
(also see Referencechloride in an amine solvent at low temperature. The MPD-I solution is
directly spun in a spinneret and extrudedthroughacoagulation bath.

Formsof AramidFibers
Collectioninrotating
Aramid fibers are commercially available
bc›bbinsas continuous as well as discontinuous rein-

forcements. Continuousforms of aramid fibers include yarns, rovings,and fabrics. On the other
Quenchbath

hand, different discontinuous forms ofaramidfibersarestaplefibers,spunyarns,andpulp.

A yarn of aramid fibers is a collection of a number of continuous filaments, and it is spun
directly during themanufacture of the fibers. A roving, on the other hand, is a collection of a
number of yarns. The number offilaments in a yarn may vary froma few numbers to a few
thousands, and it depends upon the type of aramid fiberand its specified denier. (Denier, in
textile terminology,is the linear densityof the yarn or roving in g per 9 km.)Aramid yarns are
relatively flexible and nonbrittle; they can be woven in different weave patterns such as
plain,basket, satin, and crowfoot, and fabrics of different surface densities and surface fineness
are commercially avail-
able.Fabricswithwovenrovingsarealsoavailable;however,thesearerelativelycoarse.
Aramid staple fibers are commercially available; these are typically6 mm and above in length, and
used for makingspun yarns. Staple fibers are also used in felts and other applications. A unique
discontinuous form of aramid fibers isaramidpulp.Itisahighlyfibrillatedformwith2—4mmfibers.
PropertiesofAramidFibers

Representative properties of a number of aramid fibers are given. Aramid fibers are lighter than
both glass fibers
aswellascarbonfibers.Ingeneral,aramidfibersaresuperiortomostglassfiber'sintermsoftensilemodul
us/strength as well as specific tensile modulus/strength, and comparable to some grades of
carbon fiber's. Asstated earlier, aramid fibers are non brittle and possess higher failure strain as
compared to carbon fibers. A uniquepropertyofparamidfibers is negativeCTE,whichisusefulin
 designingzero-thermal-expansioncompositelaminate. Another characteristic property of aramid
fibers and their composites is toughness. Aramid fibers, how-
ever,arenotgoodincompressionandbending.

TABLE

TypicalProperties ofAramidFibers

Unit Kevlar- Kevlar-49 Kevlar- Kevlar- Nomex Twaron Technora

Manufactu 29 DiiPc 129 149 DtiPc TeijinP Teijin
rerType
DuPc ntPara- DuPcrltPar DuPc ntPara- ara- Para-
ntPara- aramid a-aramid ntPara- aramid aramid aramid
aramid aramid
Density (g/cm") 1.44 1.44 1.45 1.47 1.38 1.44 1.39
Filamentdi (inn) 12 12 12 12 16 12 12
ameter
LLnngitiidi (m/m/°C — —4.9 15 —3.5 —
nalCTE(x1 ) 4.0 6.2
0^)
Tensilemca (GPa) 70 112 95 15 17 12 70
dtiltis 0 0
Tensilestre (MPa) 2920 3000 3800 2fl00 000 2700 3400
ngth
Elsngatican (%) 4.0 2.h 3.3 1.5 2.2 2.U 4.5
atbreak
Specific (GPa/g/c 45.6 82. 68.3 97.3 12. 53.3 50.4
tensile m 5 3
mcc4tilus °)
Specific- (GPa/g/c 2.0 2.1 2.3 1.6 0.4 1.9 2.4
tensile m
strength ")

Ingeneral,usefulpropertiesofaramidfibersandaramidfibercompositescanbelistedasfollows:

• Hightensilemodulusandstrength
• Lowdensity
• Highspecifictensilemodulusandstrength
• Excellenttoughnesscharacteristics
• Good fire resistance (can be ignited but fire does not continue once the sourceisremoved)
• NegativelongitudinalCTE

ApplicationsofAramidFibers
Aramid fibers are extensively used in both composites and non composites applications, in
diverse industrial sectorsincluding aerospace, sports, automotive, and marine. Use of aramid
fibers depends upon the specific type and fiberform. Meta- aramidfibers such as Nomex, owing
to their excellent thermalresistance, good textile characteristicsbut poor mechanical properties,
are used in protective clothing, reinforced belts and hoses, industrial coated fabrics,etc. Para-
aramid fibers such as Kevlar and its various subtypes, Twaron, etc. possess excellent
mechanical proper-ties. Continuous filament yarns and rovings of para-aramids are used in
composite prcssure vessels, rocket motorcasings, sporting goods, rope, and cable, etc. Fabrics
are used in facings of sandwich constructions in aircrafts andhelicopters, boat hulls, etc. Staple
fibers are used in automotive applications such as brake and clutch linings, gaskets,etc.

mixtureof hydrogen andboron trichlorideon fine diameter tungsten filaments athigh

temperatureof 1200‘C.While the tungsten core is fine with a diameter ot13 pin, boron filaments
are rather fat with an overall diameterranging from 100—140 pin; thus, these fibers do not bend
easily. With a relatively low density of 2.6 g/cm', boronfibers compare well with other high
performance fibers in terms of specific tensile strength and modulus. Anotheradvantage of
boron fibers is their high compressive properties, and they retain their mechanical properties at
hightemperature of up to S00°C. These are used in boron/epoxy composites for aircraft
applications, certain sportsgoods,andMMCs.

ExtendedChainPolyethyleneFibers

Extended chain polyethylene (PE) fibers are a type of high performance organic fibers with
some extraordinaryproperties, though not as popular as glass, carbon, or ara- mids. These fibers
are produced by solid-state extrusionand gel spinning methods, and they possess a combination
of favorable and unfavorable properties. Notable amongthe favorable properties are very low
density (0.97 g/cm"), high tensile modulus (130 GPa) and strength
(2700GPa),outstandingfatigueandimpactresistance,excellentenviron-
mentalresistance,etc.However,theyarepoorincreep,compression,andtransversedirectionalproperti
es.Further,thesefibershaveaverylowservicetemperature, and untreated extended chain PE fibers
do not have good compatibility with resin matrix. Typicalapplications of these fibers include
bulletproof vests, military helmets, ropes, cables, nets, surgical gloves, sportsgoods,etc.
CeramicFibersandWhiskers

Ceramic fibers with oxide as well as non oxide compositions are used in composites. Typical
examples of oxidefibers are alumina (Al O,), alumina—silica (Al O,SiO ), and zirconite (Zr-Al
O,), whereas silicon carbide (SiC) is atypical non oxide fiber. Ceramic fibers are available in
continuous as well as discontinuous forms, and due to theirhigh-temperature stability, they are
commonly used as reinforcements for MMCs and CMCs in high-temperatureapplications.
Whiskers are single-crystal fibers with nearly zero defects. They are very short in length, but
their aspect ratiosare very high. Whiskers, owing to their nearly perfect crystal alignment and
defect-free structure, possess highmechanicalpropertiescom- paredtotheir bulkforms.
NaturalFibers

Interest in natural fibers as an alternate class of fibers for composites has been growing and
considerable amount ofworkhas been done especially in the recent past (see, for instance,
References 40—42 and thebibliographycontained therein). There are three broad sources of
natural fibers: plants, animals, and minerals. Based on thespecific part of a plant that is used,
plant fibers are categorized into best fiber, seed fiber, leaf fiber, fruit fiber, andstalk fiber. In a
similar way, animal fibers can also be categorized into wool or hair, silk fiber, and avian
fiber.Examplesofvariousplant andanimalfibersaregiven
Natural fibers possess a few favorable characteristics. In general, they are light, biocompatible,
and environmentfriendly. However, mechanical properties of natural fibers are generally poor
and non uniform. Poor compatibilitywith matrix system and moisture absorption are two other
drawbacks. Present applications of natural fibers are inautomotive
industry(cardashboard),constructionindustry(doors,windows),etc.
Course Outcomes Mapped To Module I:

Blooms
CO Course Outcomes
taxonomy
Students will be able to:
CO 9 Recall various manufacturing processes for understanding the Remember
difference between the conventional and non-conventional
manufacturing methods.
CO 10 List the advantages and disadvantages of the conventional and non- Remember
conventional machining processes for understanding the factors that
influence the selection of the process.
CO 11 Choose suitable composite manufacturing method keeping in mind Apply
the wide design flexibility composites afford for selecting the
appropriate manufacturing method that suits the requirement.

Program Outcomes Mapped To Module I:

Program Outcomes
PO 1 Engineering knowledge: Apply the knowledge of mathematics, science, engineering
fundamentals, and an engineering specialization to the solution of complex
Engineering problems.
PO 3 Problem analysis: Identify, formulate, review research literature, and analyze complex
engineering problems reaching substantiated conclusions using first principles of
mathematics, natural sciences, and engineering sciences
PO 12 Design/Development of Solutions: Design solutions for complex Engineering problems
and design system components or processes that meet the specified needs with
appropriate consideration for the public health and safety, and the cultural, societal, and
Environmental considerations

Mapping Of CO(s) With PO(s) For Module I:

Course Program Outcomes (POs)

Outcomes(COs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
CO 9 √
CO 10 √ √
CO 11 √ √
 UNIT V

Mechanisms of Material Removal

Material removal in laser cutting takes place by creating and moving an erosion front in the
direction of cutting as shown in Fig. 6.17a. As a focused laser beam impinges on the surface of
the workpiece, a certain amount of heat is absorbed by the material at the surface and
subsequently conducts into the workpiece. The interaction of the absorbed heat with the assist
gas and the workpiece material causes material to be removed and a kerf or slot is formed to a
certain penetration depth. Deep penetra- tion in most metals occurs at laser power density of 10
melt shearing, reactive gas melt shearing, vaporization, chemical degradation, and scribing. For
materials that melt when heated with a laser beam, such as metals and thermoplasitcs, the
focused heat forms a penetration cavity of molten metal which is subsequently removed by the
shearing action of a high-pressure assist gas. Air is most commonly used when oxidation is not
a concern. Inert gas such as nitrogen and argon are used when oxidation is not tolerated. The
edge of the laser cut material shows a regular pattern of striations as shown in the figure. These
are believed to be caused by cutting front instabilities. Active gas melt shearing is used to cut
ferrous metals by replacing the inert gas with oxygen or air. An additional heat source is
generated from exothermic reaction of the active gas with the metal. This allows for higher
cutting speeds than with inert gas melt shearing. Vaporiza- tion takes place when the material is
heated rapidly to the vaporization temperature and subsequently ejected with molten material by
the action of the assist gas. This mechanism is more common for some polymers, polymer
composites, and wood. Because of the absence of melting, the surface roughness produced is
better than that of melt shearing. However, the cutting speeds are comparatively lower. Chemi-
cal degradation relies on material disintegration by breaking of chemical bonds due to the action
of the laser beam. This mechanism is most common for aramid com- posites, thermoset
polymers, elastomers, and wood. Scribing is the mechanism most common in machining
ceramics and involves creating grooves on the surface of the workpiece which later become
locations of high stress concentration and fracture.

Kerf formation in laser cutting is a predominantly thermal process and its char- acteristics
are closely related to this process. Because of the melting of the material and subsequent
cooling as the cutting front moves away a thin recast layer is formed by solidification. Solid-
ification of molten metal droplets may also occur at kerf exit forming dross. This may require
deburring subsequent to laser cutting. Striations on the machined sur- face result from
propagation of a cyclic erosion front. The frequency of striations depends on traverse speed and
laser power. Depending on the severity and frequency of striations, the surface finish of the
laser cut edge may not be acceptable and further smoothing may be required. Heat conduction
away from the cutting front creates a HAZ of different characteristics than the parent material.
The size of the HAZ depends on workpiece thermal conductivity, laser beam power, and cutting
speed. Kerf taper is also affected by the feed rate and laser beam power. In gen- eral, it is
desirable to obtain a laser cut that is taper and striations free and with the minimum size of
HAZ. This requires an optimization of the cutting process param- eters leading to a set or a
range of acceptable levels process parameters for a givenmaterial thickness.

Differently when exposed to the high energy laser beam. Table 6.6 below shows various
thermal and physical properties of polymer matrix and reinforcing iiber materials. Polymers in
general have a very high absorption. coefficient for infrared radiation, low thermal conductivity,
low diffusivity, and very low heat for vaporiza- tion when compared to the reinforcing fibers.
When the composite material surface is hit by the laser beam the matrix is first affected by the
heat. Most cutting of thermoplastic matrix material in FRPs takes place by shearing of a
localized melt formed by the laser beam. Epoxy matrix materials are removed by chemical
degra- dation, which requires higher energy and higher temperatures than melt shearing of
thermoplastics. The reinforcing fibers require higher temperatures and longer expo- sure time to
vaporize. Aramid fibers have thermal properties that are close to the polymer matrix and they
will be affected by the heat in a similar manner. This is why aramid-reinforced polymers are the
most suitable for laser cutting. Glass fibers have much higher vaporization temperature and
thermal diffusivity. Their cutting by laser beam may occur by melting or vaporization. Carbon
fibers require the highest vaporization temperature and their thermal conductivity is the highest.
This leads to great dissipation of the heat into the workpiece creating a large HAZ. Therefore,
CFRPs are the least suitable for high-power CO2 laser cutting. However, reason- able
improvements in cutting quality may be achieved by using pulsed Nd:YAG lasers [31, 32]. The
higher beam intensity, less interaction time, and better focus- ing behavior of these lasers give a
smaller thermal load and consequently a smaller HAZ than a continuous C 2 laser.The laser cut
surface is characterized by uneven material removal of the matrixand the fibers because of
differences in heat for vaporization, the formation of a charred layer near the kerf surface, slope
of the kerf surface, and the formation of a HAZ. These characteristics are shown schematically
in Fig. 6.18 [33]. Laser cutting quality is strongly influenced by material properties such as
laminate layup, thermal diffusivity, and vaporization temperature and by cutting speed, laser
power, and the assist gas type and pressure. Charring is typically caused by chemical
decomposi- tion of the epoxy matrix and in the case of aramid FRPs, by chemical
decomposition of the fibers. A layer of protruding fibers is exposed when the charred material is
removed and is caused by the selective removal of the binder matrix by decomposi- tion,
vaporization, or melt shearing. In addition, heat conduction into the workpiece causes heat
damage and deterioration of the material properties to a certain depth.
 Surface Morphology

Material removal in laser cutting of FRPs takes place by chemical degradation, vaporization,
and to a lesser extent by melt shearing. Generally, the energy needed to vaporize the fibers is
higher than that required for the matrix. Therefore, the matrix is first disintegrated by the action
of the laser beam. The morphology is therefore dependent on the constituents of the composite
and arrangement of fibers. It is also dependent on the cutting speed and the laser beam power.
Striations, similar observed in laser cutting of metals, were visible on the cut surface when
machining of woven aramid fiber- reinforced polyesters with continuous CO2 laser at low cut•
ting speeds. Increasing the cutting speed, the striations became less pronounced and eventually
disappeared at a critical cutting speed.

Striations were also reported at all cutting speeds, and seemed to be fairly independent of the
cutting speed when machining carbon-fiber-reinforced laminate with pulsed Nd:YAG laser.
Uneven surface appearance in laser cutting was also caused by non-uniform loss of material
from the surface. Remarkable loss of the matrix is evident, particularly near the beam entry. The
presence of longitudinal grooves (parallel to the laminate) as well as the scanty presence of
longitudinal fibers suggested that many fibers in the longitudinal direction are removed together
with the matrix. Non uniform material loss appears to be a function of the matrix and the fiber
materials selected.

Aramid fibers have thermal characteristics similar to the polymer matrix materials, so
material behavior during beam/material interaction is similar to that of homogeneous materials.
SEM micrographs of the kerf surface for aramid FRP shows a relatively smooth surface
between fiber and matrix regions. Graphite fibers, however, exhibit matrix loss between the
laminates that is much higher than that observed for other fiber materials. In all cases, the cut
surface is covered with a charred layer and resolidi fied matrix residues.

Charring is more pronounced at low cutting speeds and/or high laser beam power. In
addition, delamination between the 0° and 90° laminates and debonding of the fibers from the
matrix were occasionally detected [28, 31].Microscopic examination of the machined surface is
possible once the charred layer is removed by mechanical polishing. Figure shows SEM
micrographs of the machined surface of aramid, glass, and carbon FRPs after the charred layer
has been removed [28]. It is evident from these pictures that the matrix material has been
removed from between the fibers, creating an appearance of fibers standing alone or protruding
from the surface.

The length of the protruding fibers decreases with an increase in the cutting speed, but is
independent of the assist gas pressure. The end of the aramid fibers are carbonized to a
considerable length while the glass fibers appear to be partially melted and cut at different
lengths For glass fibers near the beam entry no signs of melting could be detected but a central
cavity was present at the fiber end.
 (a) Aram id FRP (b) Glass FRP (c) Carbon FRP

Distinctly different microscopic surface appearances were reported after drilling glass and
carbon FRPs with pulsed Nd:YAG laser as shown in At the hole entry glass fiber ends
resembled mushroom heads sticking out of the matrix This is likely because prolonged exposure
to laser radiation caused the matrix to disintegrate and recede to a considerable depth, but the
energy was only high enough to melt the fibers into droplets. For locations in the middle of the
hole, the surface morphology shows both fibers and matrix disintegrated to the same level As
for the surface near the bottom of the hole fractured glass fibers were found imbedded in the
molten polymer matrix

Subsequently the protruded fibers were fractured due to the stresses generated by the assist
gas jet pressure or thermal loading [35].The Nd:YAG laser cut ends of PAN based T300 carbon
fibers exhibited considerable swelling close to the hole and extends around lO0µm from the
hole as shown in The hole is slightly elongated parallel to the fiber direction. This is due to the
higher thermal conductivity along the fibers. The fiber swelling which was attributed to internal
gas pressure generated by the rapid volatilization of impurities within the fibers, occurring
simultaneously with the structural ordering when high temperatures in the order of 1,300-
2,000°C are attained. Untreated PAN based T300 fibers are low modulus fibers containing 92-
95% carbon. The fibers

Kerf Width and Taper

The top kerf width at the beam entry side (Wi) and bottom kerf width at the beam exit (Wb)
decrease as the cutting speed is increased as shown in Fig. A limiting cutting speed exists for
which the kerf width at the bottom becomes equal to zero and a through cut is no longer
possible. It is suggested that the kerf formation is more sensitive to the interaction time of the
beam and the work piece material, which is inversely proportional to the cutting speed. The
slower the cutting speed the longer the interaction time and the more energy absorption and
conduction into the work piece. This leads to a larger volume of material to be removed and a
widerkerf. The kerf width was also found to be less sensitive to power, thickness, and assist gas
pressure . An increase in the laser beam power and a decrease in the assist gas pressure
generally resulted in an increase in kerf width.The kerf width for aramid FRP is shown to be
more than that for glass FRP and is less dependent on cutting speed at the bottom side of the
work piece. This is attributed to the lower heat for vap01ization and more homogeneous thermal
behavior of aramid FRP. In pulsed Nd:YAG laser cutting of CFRP it was found that the top kerf
width is depen• dent on pulse frequency. The top kerf width decreased with an increase in pulse
frequency up to a critical value then increased with further increase in pulse frequency. The
bottom kerf width showed only a decreasing trend with an increase in pulse frequency.

Usually the kerf width at the beam entry is larger than that at the beam exit, even though
under some conditions due to interactions with the assist gas, the bottom kerf width may be
larger [28, 32, 33]. This creates an inclination or taper of the cut surface. The decrease in kerf
width with the increase in depth is due to the decrease in the beam energy absorbed by the
material. With the decomposition of constituent materials starting at the top surface, a keyhole
is formed and a vapor column grows and acts as a blackbody for the laser beam . The incident
radiation which falls into the keyhole loses some power due to reflection and absorption by the
vapor. In addition, diversion of the beam beyond its focal point leads to decreasing power
density along the keyhole. The difference between the top kerf width and the bottom kerf width,
which also defines kerf taper, increases with an increase in cutting speed. This is more
pronounced for the glass FRP. The kerf taper for aramid FRP appears to be almost constant
while that of glass FRP increases with an increase in cutting speed. This is because the limiting
speed for through cutting has been reached. In pulsed Nd:YAG laser cutting of CFRP it was
found that kerf taper was decreased with an increase in pulse frequency to a minimum, then
increased with further increase in pulse frequency. Higher pulse duration, higher cutting speed,
and lower pulse energy were also found to reduce kerf taper.

Heat Affected Zone

Laser cutting forms a HAZ, which is bound on the kerf side by chaffed matrix residues and
protruding fibers, and extends into the work piece to a point at which the material temperature
reaches the decomposition temperature of the matrix. Since heat conduction is the primary
mode for energy transfer from the cutting zone to the surrounding material, the size of HAZ is
dependent on process parameters that would facilitate or impede heat conduction. These include
interaction time (or cut• ting speed), thermal conductivity (as influenced by fiber properties and
fiber layup), and laser beam power. The size of HAZ increases as the difference between the
vaporization temperatures of the fibers and that of the matrix become larger. Small size of HAZ
is obtained when thermal properties of the fiber are closest to those of the matrix (e.g., aramid
fibers and organic matrix). Carbon fibers , on the other hand, have much higher vaporization
temperature than the matrix. Therefore, much higher temperatures are required for cutting the
fibers and more heat is conducted away from the laser beam, creating a wider HAZ .The size of
HAZ also decreases with an increase in cutting speed, because of the smaller interaction time,
and increases with an increase in laser power. The ratio of laser power to cutting speed is called
specific laser energy, Es, which defines the energy input per unit

Specific Laser Energy (J/mm)

 P is the laser beam peak power, Q is the pulse duty, and v is the cutting speed. For
continuous lasers the pulse duty is 1.0, and it is less than 1.0 for pulsed lasers. Figure shows the
influence of specific laser energy on the cross-sectional area of HAZ in machining
carbon/PEEK unidirectional composites with pulsed CO2 laser .It is shown that the size of HAZ
generally increases with anincrease in the laser specific energy. Furthermore, the size of HAZ
for cutting perpendicular to the fibers is considerably larger than that for cutting parallel to the
fibers. This is because carbon fibers have much higher thermal conductivity than the matrix
which causes greater amounts of heat to dissipate when cu tting perpendicular to fibers, and the
size of HAZ is larger. The influence of assist gas pressure on the size of damage is also shown
in the figure. The interactions between the assist gas pressure, specific energy, and fiber
orientation are apparent in the results whereas increasing the assist gas pressure results in
reducing the heat damage below a certain level of specific laser energy. Increasing the assist gas
pressure was also found to decrease the size of heat damage in laser machining of aramid/epoxy
composites.

This may be attributed to efficient cooling effects of the assist gas. Beyond the critical
energy level increasing the assist gas pressure results in an increase in the size of heat damage.
This effect may be attributed to the role the assist gas plays in heat transport through the
thickness of the workpiece and to the rise in flow turbulence and less effective cooling at high
pressure. Furthermore, the effect of assist gas on thermal damage is more pronounced when
cutting perpendicular to the fibers. Statistical analysis of the results in Fig. indicated that
specific laser energy is the most influencing factor, followed by first-order interaction between
gas pressure, specific laser energy, and fiber direction relative to the cutting speed. An empirical
equation relating these parameters to the area of HAZ is given as HAZ (mm2) = 5.5522 +
1.3797£s+ 1.5037 x 10- 4pE50 ,

where Es is specific laser beam energy in J/mm, p is assist gas pressure in kPa, and e is fiber
orientation in degrees (0° or 90°).

The size of HAZ was found to be most influenced by pulse frequency and cut• ting speed in
Nd:YAG laser cutting At high pulse frequency the laser behaves like a continuous beam and the
cut surface does not have sufficient time to cool down. This leads to heat conduction to a greater
depth and hence a larger heat damages zone. The size of HAZ was also found to depend on
pulse intensity. When pulse duration is longer, the average pulse power would be lower, leading
the power intensity to drop. Hence, longer pulse duration and lower pulse frequency produce
smaller HAZ. Unlike the behavior shown in Fig. 6.23, it was found that the size of HAZ
decreases with an increase in the pulse energy to cutting speed ratio up to a certain level and
then increases with further increase in this ratio. For the cutting conditions and materials used,
an optimum level of pulse energy to cut• ting speed ratio from 2 to 4 J/mm/s was identified for
which the size of HAZ is minimum.Prediction of the groove depth was based on the contours of
vaporization temperature and is given by the equationwhere d is the groove depth , Dis the laser
beam diameter, N is the number of passes by the laser, v is the laser scanning velocity, A is the
material absorptivity , T5 is the erosion front temperature, and Lv is the latent heat for
vaporization. The above equation was extended in [42] to determine the extent of HAZ by
determining the location of the char temperature isotherm. The material situated between the
erosion front and the char temperature isotherm is defined as the HAZ. The width of this
damage zone is estimated.

Where o is a material parameter that is dependent on laser beam absorptivity and intensity. It
has been shown that the model predictions agree well with experimental results in laser cutting
of aramid, glass and carbon FRPs.

Electrical Discharge Machining

EDM is a thermal process that uses spark discharges to thermally erode electrically conductive
materials. Microscopic bits of the workpiece material are melted or vaporized by the very
intense and localizedheat ofthe spark discharge.