SI EDITION

MANUFACTURING
Engineering and Technology
Seventh Edition

CHAPTER
9
COMPOSITE MATERIALS:
STRUCTURE, GENERAL PROPERTIES AND APPLICATIONS

Serope Kalpakjian
Steven R. Schmid ALWAYS LEARNING Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
Chapter Outline
1. Introduction
2. The Structure of Reinforced Plastics
3. Properties of Reinforced Plastics
4. Applications of Reinforced Plastics
5. Metal-matrix Composites
6. Ceramic-matrix Composites
7. Other Composites

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Introduction
 Composite material is a combination of two or
more chemically distinct and insoluble phases
 Known as polymer-matrix, metal-matrix and
ceramic-matrix composites
 Fiber reinforcements improve the strength,
stiffness and creep resistance, strength-to-weight
and stiffness-to-weight ratios of plastics

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Introduction

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The Structure of Reinforced Plastics

 Reinforced plastics consist of fibers in a

polymer matrix
 Also known as polymer-matrix composites
(PMC) and fiber reinforced plastics (FRP)

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The Structure of Reinforced Plastics

 Fibers in reinforced plastics have little structural

value
 No transverse stiffness or strength
 When more than one
type of fiber is used
in a reinforced plastic,
it is called a hybrid
 Have better properties
but are more costly

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The Structure of Reinforced Plastics

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The Structure of Reinforced Plastics:
Reinforcing Fibers
 Glass, carbon,
ceramics,
aramids, and
boron are the
common
reinforcing
fibers

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The Structure of Reinforced Plastics:
Reinforcing Fibers
Glass Fibers
 Least expensive of all fibers
 Composite material is called glass-fiber
reinforced plastic (GFRP)
 Principal types of glass fibers:
1. E-type
2. S-type
3. E-CR-type

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The Structure of Reinforced Plastics:
Reinforcing Fibers
Carbon Fibers
 More expensive, low density, high strength and
high stiffness
 Product is called carbon-fiber reinforced plastic
(CFRP)
 Difference between carbon and graphite depends
on the material purity and processed temperature
 Classified by their elastic modulus: low,
intermediate, high, and very high modulus

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The Structure of Reinforced Plastics:
Reinforcing Fibers
Carbon Fibers
 All carbon fibers are made by pyrolysis of
organic precursors
 Pyrolysis is the process of
inducing chemical changes
by heat
Conductive Graphite Fibers
 Enhance the electrical and thermal conductivity
of reinforced plastic components

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precursors and manufacturing of carbon fibers

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precursors and manufacturing of carbon fibers

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The Structure of Reinforced Plastics:
Reinforcing Fibers
Ceramic Fibers
 Have low elongation, low thermal conductiity and
good chemical resistance

Polymer Fibers
 Fibers may be made of nylon, rayon, acrylics, or
aramids, most common are aramid fibers
 Aramids, such as Kevlar, are tough and have
very high specific strength
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The Structure of Reinforced Plastics:
Reinforcing Fibers
Boron Fibers
 Fibers consist of boron deposited onto tungsten or
carbon fibers
 High strength and stiffness in
tension and compression and
resistance to high temperatures
 Due to high density of tungsten, they are heavy
and expensive

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The Structure of Reinforced Plastics:
Reinforcing Fibers
Other Fibers
 Whiskers used as reinforcing fibers, they are tiny
needle-like single crystals
 High aspect ratios (ratio of fiber length to its
diameter)
 Small size and free of imperfections

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The Structure of Reinforced Plastics:
Fiber Size and Length
 Fibers are very strong and stiff in tension
 Due to molecules oriented in the longitudinal
direction, cross sections are small
 Fibers are classified:
1. Short (discontinuous)
- mechanical properties improve as average fiber
length increase
2. Long (continuous)
- no improvement in properties occurs

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The Structure of Reinforced Plastics:
Matrix Materials
 Matrix in reinforced plastics has 3 principal
functions:
1. Support the fibers in place and transfer the
stresses to them
2. Protect the fibers against physical damage and the
environment
3. Reduce the propagation of cracks in the
composite
 Matrix materials are thermoplastics or thermosets

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Properties of Reinforced Plastics

 Mechanical and physical properties of reinforced

plastics depend on:
1. Type, shape, and orientation of the reinforcing
material
2. Length of the fibers
3. Volume fraction (percentage) of the reinforcing
material

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Properties of Reinforced Plastics

 Short fibers are less effective than long fibers and

properties are influenced by temperature and time
under load

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Properties of Reinforced Plastics

 Physical properties of reinforced plastics depend

on the type and amount of reinforcement
 Weak interfacial bonding causes fiber pullout
and delamination of the structure
 Glass fibers are treated with silane for improved
wetting and bonding

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Properties of Reinforced Plastics

 Highest stiffness and strength in reinforced

plastics are when the fibers are aligned in the
direction of the tension force

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Properties of Reinforced Plastics:
Strength and Elastic Modulus of Reinforced Plastics

 Total load, Pc , on the composite is

Pc  Pf  Pm Pf = fibre load
Pm = matrix load

 Which can be written as  c Ac   f A f   m Am

 Using x to represents the volume fraction,
 c  x f  1  x  m
 Elastic modulus of the composite is
Ec  xE f  1  x Em

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Properties of Reinforced Plastics:
Strength and Elastic Modulus of Reinforced Plastics

EXAMPLE 9.1
Calculation of Stiffness of a Composite and Load Supported by Fibers
Assume that a graphite–epoxy reinforced plastic with longitudinal fibers
contains 20% graphite fibers. The elastic modulus of the fibers is 300 GPa,
and that of the epoxy matrix is 100 GPa. Calculate the elastic modulus of the
composite and the fraction of the load supported by the fibers.
Solution
We have Ec  0.2300  1  0.2100  140 GPa

Pf 0.2300
The load fraction is   0.75
Pm 0.8100
Pf
We obtain, Pc  Pf   2.33Pf  Pf  0.43Pc
0.75
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Applications of Reinforced Plastics

 Glass or carbon fiber reinforced hybrid plastics

are for high-temperature applications
 Reinforced plastics is used for weight reduction
in product design

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Applications of Reinforced Plastics

CAES STUDY 9.1

Composite Military Helmets and Body Armor
 Body armor uses layers of woven fibers

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Metal-matrix Composites

 Advantages of a metal matrix over a polymer

matrix are higher elastic modulus, toughness,
ductility and higher resistance
 Limitations are higher density and a greater
difficulty in processing parts

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Metal-matrix Composites

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Metal-matrix Composites

CASE STUDY 9.2

Aluminum-matrix Composite Brake Calipers
 Aluminum-matrix composite brake caliper using
nano-crystalline alumina fiber reinforcement

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Ceramic-matrix Composites

 Ceramic-matrix composites (CMC) are resistance

to high temperatures and corrosive environments
 Ceramics are strong and stiff, they resist high
temperatures, but they lack toughness
 Carbon/carbon-matrix composites retain much of
their strength but lack oxidation resistance at high
temperatures
 Used for automotive engine components

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Other Composites

 Composites consist of coatings of various types

on base metals or substrates
 Examples are:
1. Plating of aluminum or other metals over plastics
2. Enamels
3. Vitreous (glasslike) coatings on metal surfaces

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Other Composites

CASE STUDY 9.3

Composites in the Aircraft Industry
 Composite content in selected commercial aircraft
as a function of time

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