Application of Composites in

Sporting Goods

Prepared by:
Dilpreet Bajwa
Chad Ulven
Chris Dahlen
James Helphrey
 Composite Materials
They can be defined as a material with two (or more)
distinct macroscopical phases. Fibers embedded in or
bonded to a matrix with distinct interfaces between
the two constituent phases
Eg. Concrete

Iron Bars in the Cement Matrix Silver – Copper Alloy reinforced with
Matrix Dispersed Carbon Fibers
Phase
Stone Age -> Bronze Age -> Iron Age -> Composite Age
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 Reasons for Composite
• Tailored Properties
• Lightweight
• High Strength
• Specific Strength

• High Stiffness
• High Strength
• Design Flexibility
• Vibration Damping
 Uses of Composites

Composite Bicycle
Laminated
Fiberglass Bow

Graphite Snowboard

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 Uses of Composites

Composite Baseball
Bat from Miken
Sports

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Uses of Composites
Uses of Composites
Sports Skis Snowboards
Snowboard Bindings Inline Skates
Nordic Skis Nordic Ski Poles Nordic
Ski Boots Snowshoes
Uses of Composites
Composite Fishing Rods
 Uses of Composites

Dodge Viper

Front grill of an Automobile Different part of an airplane

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Composite Blade
Types of Fibers and Architecture

Fiber Glass

Graphite Fiber

Kevlar Fiber

Kevlar/Carbon Hybrid
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 Composite Materials
Polymer – Thermoset, Thermoplastic, Elastomer
Metallic – Al, Ti, Mg, and Cu Alloys
Ceramic – Si Alloys

Polymer (Thermoset) – Epoxy, Polyester,

Vinyl Esters
Fibers – Glass, Carbon, Graphite, Natural
fibers (flax, sisal, cotton, hemp etc)

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 Laminated Composites
Laminated composites can be thought of as sheets of
continuous fiber composites laminated such that each
layer has the fiber oriented in a given direction.

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 Basic Strength of Materials
Stress:
Stress is defined as the average force per unit
area.
F
Stress ,  
A
Units - Pascal (Pa) or N
m2
Strain:
A deformation produced by stress. It’s the
ratio of difference in length to the actual length.
Strain is always dimensionless. L  Initial Length
A  Cross sectional Area

Strain,   F  Applied Load
L   Length Difference
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Basic Mechanics
Mechanics: Branch of engineering that studies internal effects of
stress and strain in a solid body subjected to external
loading.
a) Statics - branch of mechanics which considers the action of
forces in producing rest or equilibrium of a body.
b) Dynamics - branch of mechanics which treats of the motion of
bodies (kinematics) and the action of forces in producing or
changing their motion (kinetics).

Force: The capacity to do work or cause physical change.

Pressure: Force applied uniformly over a surface, measured as
force per unit of area.
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 Rules Of Mixture
As for the laminated composites , the rule of mixtures
always predicts the density of fiber - reinforced composite :
 c  Vm  m  V f  f
where the subscripts m and f refer to the matrix and fiber.
Also, Vm  1  V f
 Composite Fabrication
Types of Composite fabrication:
Wet Lay-up/Hand Lay-up
Filament Winding
Pultrusion
Spray Lay-up
Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM)
Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Moulding (VARTM)

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 Hand Lay-up

Resins are impregnated by hand into fibres which are in the

form of woven, knitted, stitched or bonded fabrics. This is
usually accomplished by rollers or brushes, with an
increasing use of nip-roller type impregnators for forcing
resin into the fabrics by means of rotating rollers and a bath
of resin. Laminates are left to cure under standard
atmospheric conditions.

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 Filament Winding

This process is primarily used for hollow, generally circular or

oval sectioned components, such as pipes and tanks. Fibre
tows are passed through a resin bath before being wound
onto a mandrel in a variety of orientations, controlled by the
fibre feeding mechanism, and rate of rotation of the
mandrel.
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Skis Layout Process
Glass Fiber Types
Layout of Glass Fiber Sheets
 Activity 1. Preparation of
Composite Hockey Stick
Material – Wooden hockey stick, Glass fiber sheets, Natural fiber
mat, Adhesive, Gloves

Procedure:
1. Using the sand paper provided sand all sides of the hockey
stick where fiber mats will be placed (marked section).
2. Tightly layout the glass fiber sheets on the marked section of
hockey stick and apply the adhesive with the roller. Be sure to
wear the gloves and goggles and apply adhesive in the
marked section area.
3. Wait 1 hr for the adhesive to dry and cure. Do not move the
samples once they are set aside for curing.
4. Remove the samples from plastic sheet for testing. 23
 Activity 1a. Testing of Composite
Hockey Stick
Material – Hockey Stick, Composite Blade, 2 Tables, Bucket with
weight, Scale and Caliper

Procedure:
The hockey blade will be placed between two tables. A
bucket with known weight will hang from the middle of
the shaft of the hockey stick. Weights will be added to
measure the deflection of composite versus regular
wood hockey stick. The deflection and load values
obtained will be used to measure the elastic properties
of two different hockey sticks.
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 Activity 2. Design fiber reinforced
composite plaques
Material – Glass fiber mats, thermoset resin weighing scale and
Caliper
Procedure:
1. Select 4 sheets of unidirectional fiber mats and 4 sheets of
bidirectional mats.
2. Lay 4 unidirectional glass fiber mats on polyethylene sheets.
3. Lay 4 bidirectional glass fiber mats on polyethylene sheet.
4. Impregnate them with thermoset resin using plastic bottle
and roller.
5. Cure the samples for 1.5 hrs.
6. Conduct a drop ball impact test on the cured samples.
 What did you learn?
1. What are composites and why use them?

2. How were the concepts of specific strength and specific

stiffness used in today’s activity?

3. How does fiber reinforcement affect the properties?

4. What kind of fiber orientation did and didn’t work?

4. Why do think it did not work?

5. Describe the important strategies needed for designing a

good composite good.
Future Directions

• The natural and eco element is gaining

momentum.
• Recycling
• Natural Composites
• Cost/ Processing issues may gain more
importance
Composite Applications Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Yw7DXelqd1c