Dept. of Aero & Auto Engg, M.I.

T, Manipal 1
Definition
 A material formed from a combination of other materials to produce a
material with properties different (improved) from the starting materials.
 These are generally the metals reinforced by ceramics or other materials
usually in fiber form.
 The reinforcing material is used to strengthen the matrix by impeding
dislocation motion.

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Schematic representations of the various geometrical and spatial
characteristics of particles of the dispersed phase that may influence the
properties of composites:- (a) concentration, (b) size, (c) shape, (d) distribution,
and (e) orientation.

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 Fig:- Classification of Composites

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Nature of composites
 Wood is a composite of cellulose fiber held together with glue or matrix of soft
lignin.
 In engineering materials composites are formed by coatings, internal additives,
and laminating.
 Plywood is a common composite.

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 Glass fiber reinforced Composites
 Fiberglass is simply a composite consisting of glass fibers, either continuous or
discontinuous, contained within a polymer matrix; this type of composite is produced
in the largest quantities.
 Glass is popular as a fibre reinforcement material for several reasons:
1. It is easily drawn into high-strength fibres from the molten state.
2. It is readily available and may be fabricated into a glass-reinforced plastic economically
using a wide variety of composite-manufacturing techniques.
3. As a fibre it is relatively strong, and when embedded in a plastic matrix, it produces a
composite having a very high specific strength.

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Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Composites
 Carbon is a high-performance fibre material that is the most commonly used
reinforcement in advanced (i.e., nonfibreglass) polymer-matrix composites. The
reasons for this are as follows:

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1. Carbon fibres have the highest specific strength of all reinforcing fibre materials.
2. They retain their high tensile modulus and high strength at elevated temperatures;
high-temperature oxidation, however, may be a problem.
3. At room temperature, carbon fibres are not affected by moisture or a wide variety of
solvents, acids, and bases.
4. These fibres exhibit a diversity of physical and mechanical characteristics,
composites incorporating these fibres to have specific engineered properties.
5. Fibre and composite manufacturing processes have been developed that are relatively
inexpensive and cost effective.

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Metal Matrix Composites
 MMCs are basically consist of soft metal matrix, reinforced with relatively hard
reinforcing materials. Examples are Al-SiC composites, Al-Al2O3 composites.
 The basic idea of adding reinforcing material is to enhance the mechanical properties
and to increase the strength to weight ratio.
 Reinforcement may be continuous or discontinuous. More the weight% if reinforcing
material, better the strength, hardness and wear resistance of the MMCs.

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 The aerospace industry uses MMCs. Structural applications include advanced
aluminum alloy metal-matrix composites; boron fibers are used as the reinforcement
for the Space Shuttle Orbiteer.

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CARBON–CARBON COMPOSITES
 One of the most advanced and promising engineering material is the Carbon fibre
reinforced Carbon-matrix composite, often termed a Carbon–Carbon composite; as
the name implies, both reinforcement and matrix are carbon. These materials are
relatively new and expensive and, therefore, are not currently being utilized
extensively.

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 The carbon–carbon composites are employed in rocket motors, as friction materials in
aircraft and high-performance automobiles, for hot-pressing moulds, in components
for advanced turbine engines, and as ablative shields for re-entry vehicles.

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Different manufacturing
techniques of composites

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Composite Manufacturing Techniques

 Processes:
 Hand Lay-up
 Spray method
 Pressure molding
 Vacuum bagging
 Filament winding

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Composite Manufacturing techniques
 Processes:
 Pultrusion
 Sheet molding
 Pre-preg forming
 Bulk molding
 Resin transfer molding

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 Hand lay-up

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 Materials used
Matrix Epoxy, polyester, polyvinyl ester, phenolic resin, unsaturated
polyester, polyurethane resin
Reinforcement Glass fiber, carbon fiber, aramid fiber, natural plant fibers (all
these fibers are in the form of unidirectional mat,
bidirectional (woven) mat, stitched into a fabric form, mat of
randomly oriented fibers)

Table 1 Raw materials used in hand lay-up method

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Hand lay-up
 Advantages:
 Low cost tools
 Versatile: wide range of products
 Disadvantages:
 Time consuming
 Easy to form air bubbles and disorientation of fibers
 Inconsistency

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Spray layup method

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 Materials used
Matrix Epoxy, polyester, polyvinyl ester, phenolic resin, unsaturated
polyester, polyurethane resin
Reinforcement Glass fiber, carbon fiber, aramid fiber, natural plant fibers (all
these fibers are in the form of unidirectional mat,
bidirectional (woven) mat, stitched into a fabric form, mat of
randomly oriented fibers)

Table 1 Raw materials used in spray lay-up method

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Spray method
 Advantages:
 Continuous process
 Any materials can be used as mold.
 Error can be corrected by re-spraying.
 Disadvantages:
 Slow.
 Inconsistency.
 No control of fiber orientation.
 Only one side finished.
 Environmental unfriendly.

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Pressure molding

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Pressure molding
 Advantages:
 Wide range of shapes
 Integrate parts
 Consistency
stability
 Structural
 Relatively simple

 Disadvantages:
 High cost of machine
 Time consuming to heat up, cool down and curing
 Expensive molds (strong materials required)
 No intricate parts
 Large volume of products

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Vacuum bagging
 Process

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Vacuum bagging
 Advantages:
 Simple design
 Any fiber/matrix combination
 Ok with cheap mold material
 Better quality for the cost

 Disadvantages:
 Cannot be heated up too much
 Breeder clothe has to be replaced frequently
 Low pressure (760 mm Hg the most)
 Slowest speed
 Inconsistency

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Filament winding

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Filament winding

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Filament winding

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Filament winding products
 Compressed air tanks
 High-pressure CO2 tanks and bottles
 Water softener systems
 Compressed Natural Gas tanks
 Defense/Aerospace systems
 Light poles

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Filament winding
 Advantages:
 using existing textile processes.
 quick, easy to handle package.
 parts can have huge size.
 Disadvantages:
 spinning speed is limited due to resin penetration and
splashing, traveler speed and yarn breakage.
 curing by heat is not easy to apply.
 shape of the products limited (only cylindrical possible).

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Resin transfer molding

http://www.plastech.co.uk/Mtrtm.html
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Resin transfer molding
 Advantages
 Components will have good surface finish on both sides
 Selective reinforcement and accurate fiber management is achievable
 Ability to build-in fiber volume fraction loadings up to 65%
 Uniformity of thickness and fiber loading, uniform shrinkage
 Inserts may be incorporated into moldings
 Tooling costs comparatively low
 Uses only low pressure injection
 Low volatile emission during processing
 Ability to produce near net shape moldings
 Process can be automated, resulting in higher production rates
 Ability to mould complex structural and hollow shapes
 Low resultant voids
 Ability to achieve from 0.5mm to 90mm laminate thickness
 Disadvantages
 waste some material (spill)
 curing time long
 hard for intricate parts

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Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding

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Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding
 Advantages?
…

 Disadvantages?

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