Polymer Matrix Composites are the most common and will the main area of discussion in this guide. Also known as FRP - Fibre Reinforced Polymers (or Plastics) these materials use a polymer-based resin as the matrix, and a variety of fibres such as glass, carbon and aramid as the reinforcement. Metal Matrix Composites are increasingly found in the automotive industry; these materials use a metal such as aluminium as the matrix, and reinforce it with fibres such as silicon carbide.
There are considerable differences in published property data for Metal matrix composite. This is partly due to the fact that there are no industry standards for metal matrix composites, as there are for metals. Reinforcements and composites are typically made by proprietary processes, and, as a consequence, the properties of materials having the same nominal composition can be radically different. The issue is further clouded by the fact that many reinforcements and they are still in the developmental stage, and are continually being refined. Numerous test methods are used throughout the industry, and it is widely recognized that this is a major source of differences in reported properties. Some properties cannot be measured as they would be for monolithic metals. For instance, toughness is an important but hard to define material property. Standard fracture mechanics tests and analytical methods for metals are based on the assumption of self-similar crack extension; i.e., a crack will simply lengthen without changing shape. Composites, however, are non-homogeneous materials with complex internal damage patterns. As a result, the applicability of conventional fracture mechanics to metal matrix composite is controversial, especially for fibre-reinforced ma...
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...einforced metals which may be important in some applications.
Composite materials are materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties, that when combined, produce a material with characteristics different from the individual components. It can be divided into several types. We are focusing on polymer matrix composite and metal matrix composite. Polymer matrix Composite is a composite material made from a polymer resin. They are not as strong or heat resistant as metal matrix and ceramic matrix composites. Besides that, metal matrix composite is composite material with at least two constituent parts, one is a metal and the other material may be a different metal or another material. Polymer matrix composite is the most commonly used composite as it is a monolithic polymer which its process is easier.
STRUCTURE Kevlar Aramid Fiber is a synthetic (man-made) material known as Polymer. A polymer is a chain that is made up of many similar molecular groups, better known as ‘monomers’ that are bonded together. The ‘Monomers’ are made up of fourteen Carbon atoms, two Nitrogen atoms, two Oxygen atoms and ten Hydrogen atoms. A single Kevlar polymer chain could possibly have anywhere from one to five million monomers bonded together. A group of polymer chains can be organised together in a fiber.
The article by Dr. Nuray Attar focused on the comparison of the flexural strength and elastic modulus of condensable and hybrid composite resins. The study focused on fou...
Major aerospace engineering bodies such as NASA soon realised the importance of this technology and scientists began to develop carbon fibre composites for use in aircraft and spacecraft. Currently, carbon fibre composites are some of the most widely used materials in the aerospace and aviation industry as one of strongest materials available, being five times the strength of steel. It is also a third of the weight of steel and therefore incredibly lightweight. A composite is defined as a material consisting of two or more individual constituents. These composites are made from carbon fibre fabric (the fibres woven together) which is permeated with epoxy resin at temperatures of around 125 degrees. The product is a carbon fiber sheet. This can then be shaped into a pattern and finally bonded with a structural adhesive7. The use of CFC’s is most prominent in modern military aircraft, where most external components such as wings, doors and rear fuselage sections are partially made using them. The aim of using this material is to reduce weig...
Figure 4.1 :Average single-fibre tensile strength for as-received and heat-treated Kevlar-29 fibres under different gauge lengths. The number marks on the columns indicate the gauge lengths. (C.Y.Yue et al., 2000).
A composite material is made by combining two or more materials to give a unique combination of properties. The two constituents are reinforcement and a matrix. There are many types of materials that can be used for reinforced and matrix materials. The choice materials depend more upon required strength to weight ratio, stiffness and application.
A tensile test is performed on a sample of 1045 normalized construction-grade steel using an Intron load frame. A graph of the engineering stress versus strain of the 1045 steel specimen is constructed from the data collected in the tensile test. Mechanical properties such as the ultimate strength, the fracture strength, and the Young’s modulus of the sample are obtained by further analyzing the stress versus strain graph. These experimental values are compared to the expected mechanical properties of the tested material provided by a reference. The percent difference between the expected and experimental values of the ultimate strength is 13.5% and that of the modulus of elasticity is 9.42 %.
FRP composites are the latest version of the very old idea of making better composite material by combining two different materials that can be traced back to the use of straw as reinforcement in bricks used by ancient civilizations. FRP reinforcement can be found in the expanded use of composites after World War II.
Aluminum is one of a number of soft metals that scientists call "poor" metals. It can be shaped and twisted into any form. It can be rolled into thick plates for armored tanks or into thin foil for chewing gum wrappers. It may be drawn into a wire or made into cans. Aluminum is a generally popular metal because it does not rust and it resists wear from weather and chemicals. (Bowman, 391) Aluminum is an element. Its atomic number is thirteen and its atomic weight is usually twenty-seven. Pure aluminum melts at 660.2ºC and boils at 2500ºC. Its density is 2.7 grams per cube centimeter. Aluminum is never found uncombined in nature. (Bowman, 391) Aluminum is a very useful metal that is light, easy to shape and can be strong. This makes aluminum one of the most used metals in the world, right behind iron and steel. (Geary, 185) In its pure state, aluminum is quite weak compared to the other metals. However, its strength can be greatly increased by adding small amounts of alloying elements, heat-treating, or cold working. Only a small percentage of aluminum is used in its pure form. It is made into such items as electrical conductors, jewelry, and decorative trim for alliances and cars. A combination of the three techniques has produced aluminum alloys that, pound for pound, are stronger than structural steel. Some common metals used in alloys for aluminum are copper, magnesium and zinc.(Walker, 31) The added elements give the aluminum strength and other properties. (Newmark, 41) Aluminum is one of the lightest metals. It weighs about 168.5 pounds per cubic foot, about a third as much as steel which weighs 487 pounds per cubic foot. (Neely, 214) As a result, aluminum has replaced steel for many uses. For example, some ...
Polypropylene is one of those most versatile polymers available with applications, both as a plastic and as a fiber, in virtually all of the plastics end-use markets.[3]
The applications of natural fibers in composite are also spreading widely in many sectors such as automobiles, packing ,construction furniture and sports. This is mainly due to the advantages of natural fibre over synthetic such as low cost, low density, less damage to processing equipment, good relative mechanical properties, renewablility, biodegradability. Natural fibers were also introduced with the intention of reducing wieght of composites, showing a tendency to replace the existing glass fiber reinforced polymer composites .
These kind of propellers are lighter, have less vibration, have greater strength and are quieter. An example of natural composite propeller blade is shown in figure 5 below: Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastics (GFRP) Various types of glass are used to make glass fiber reinforced composite. The plastic matrix may be a thermosetting plastic, most often epoxy, polyester resin and vinyl ester.
Polymeric materials are also used for medical adhesives and sealants, and are also used for coatings that perform a range of functions. 2. What is the difference between a.. Metals: As a choice of materials, metals are most commonly used for load-bearing implants. For example, in some of the most common orthopedic surgeries, implantation of metallic implants is involved.
There are many attributes that affect the properties of a composite material, based on their intrinsic properties of the constituents. The properties that are harnessed to reinforce a composite material are essentially governed by the similar factors that affect other fiber composite materials, namely the fiber architecture and the fiber–matrix interface.
2.1 High Strength and stiffness: Composite materials have high strength and stiffness, which results in easy of testing results [4].