Composite

materials
 Contents

• Introduction to composites
• Fibers
• Matrix Materials
• Additives
• Production of Composites
• Long fiber composites
• Unidirectional lamina
• Laminates
• Short fiber composites
 composites

• Definition of composite Material

• Two or more chemically different constituents combined
macroscopically to yield a useful material
• Composite Material is composed of two or more different
materials bonded together with one serving as continuous
matrix and other as a reinforcing material.
• Ex: wood is a natural composite which is made up of cellulose
fiber and lignin Fibrous composite)
• Bone (fibrous composite)
• Granite(quartz, feldspar, mica)- Granular/ particulate composites
 Artificial composites

• Concrete- pebbles, cement and sand

• Plywood (fiber composite)
• Fiber glass (short fiber and matrix)- Short fiber
composite
• Matrix : polyester, epoxy, phenolic
 Artificial composites

• Cermets (Fiber-ceramics and matrix – metal)

• Cutting tool tips, tools for high temperature applications
• Long fibrous composites
• Fiber- Glass, Kevlar, carbon, Nylon
• Matrix- Polymer
 Properties of composites

• High strength, stiffness and corrosion resistance

• OTHER ADVANTAGES
• Strength to weight ratio
• Fatigue strength
• It is possible to attain combination of properties in
composites which are not attainable with other
materials
• LIMITATIONS
• Properties are Anisotropic
• Expensive, processing methods are slow and costly
 APPLICATIONS

• Automotive sector, aerospace

• Light weight
• Strength
• Corrosion resistance
• Wear resistance
• Easthetic
 APPLICATIONS

• Brake pads
• Car body
• Clutch
• Drive shafts
• Bonnets
• Fuel tanks
• spoilers
 APPLICATIONS

• Air craft applications

• Nose , doors, struts, trunnions, cowlings, fairings,
ailerons, flaps, stabilizers, fin tips, spoilers
• Rockets and Missiles
• Nose, body, pressure tanks, fuel tanks
• Satellite
• Frames and structures, antenna
 APPLICATIONS

• Sports
• Transportation
• Infrastructure
• Biomedical
• Consumer goods
• Agricultural equipment
• Health care
 Classification of composites
• Depending upon the form of reinforcing phase composite
materials are classified as

• Fibre Reinforced Composites

• Particulate Reinforced Composites
• Dispersion Reinforced Composites
• Laminates
• Depending on Matrix Materials
• Polymer Matrix composites
• Metal Matrix composites
• Ceramic Matrix composites
 Fabrication of fibre reinforced composites

• The following methods are most commonly used for producing

fibre-reinforced plastics
• Hand lay up process
• Filament winding process
• Sheet moulding compound process
• Continuous pultrusion process
• Resin transfer moulding
• Vacuum bag moulding
 Hand lay up process
• Simple process of producing fibre reinforced parts
• Mould is coated with gel
• Fibre glass reinforcement in the form of mat is manually placed in the mould
• The base resin is then applied by pouring or spraying
• Rollers are used to thoroughly wet the reinforcement with resin and to remove
entrapped air
• To increase the thickness of the composite part, layers of fibre glass mat and
resin are added
• The part is cured and hardened part is removed
• Used for making large size products such as boat hulls, tanks, housings and
building panels
• Low in production quantity
Hand lay up process
Applications

Boat hulls
tanks
housings
Building
panels
Filament welding process

Fiber reinforcement is fed through resin

bath and is wound on the mandrel
When sufficient layers are obtained, the
wound mandrel is cured at either room
temperature or at elevated temperature
in a oven
The moulded part is then stripped from
the mandrel

Applications

Pipes
Tanks to handle
chemicals
 Sheet moulding compound process
• In this process polyster or epoxy resin is kneaded into glass
reinforcement by roller

• The finished sheet consists of resin and reinforcement and this sheet
can be cut to a required size and pressed in a matched mould to make
the finished part
• The moulds are heated to complete the cross linking resin
• The process is particularly useful in automotive industry for production
of body panels and hoods.
• ADVANTAGES
• efficient high volume production
• Improved suface quality
• Product uniformity
Sheet moulding compound process
 Continuous pultrusion process
• In this process continuous strand glass fibres are
impregnated in a resin bath
• The resin impregnated glass strands are fed into a heated
steel die and then are slowly drawn out as a cured
composited material with a constant cross sectional shape
• Pipes, channels, I-beams and similar shapes can be
produced by this process
• These parts are used for decking and structural members
around corrosive environments
Continuous pultrusion process

Decking and
structural members
around corrosive
environments
Pipes
Channels
I-Beam
 Resin transfer moulding
• Glass reinforcement is cut and shaped to the desired
thickness in the open Mould.
• The mould is then closed and evacuated, and then
catalyzed resin is forced into the bottom of the mould.
• When mould is filled, the resin line is stopped off and
the part is allowed to cure
This method is used for making water tanks, bus
shelters and machine cabinets
Resin transfer moulding

Water tanks
Bus shelters
Machine
cabinets
 Vacuum Bag Moulding
• A preform is laid in a mould to form desired shape

• The pressure required to shape the product is obtained

by creating vacuum
• The principle of vacuum bag is illustrated in the figure
• Composite materials produced by this method are used
for aircraft and aerospace applications
Vacuum bag moulding