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Guide to Structural Composites Introduction To fully appreciate the role and application of composite materials to a structure, an understanding is required of the component materials themselves and of the ways in which they can be processed. This guide looks at basic composite theory, properties of materials used and then the various processing techniques commonly found for the conversion of materials into finished structures. 1.1 Basic Composite Theory In its most basic form a composite material is one, which is composed of at least two elements working together to produce material properties that are different to the prop- erties of those elements on their own. In practice, most composites consist of a bulk material (the ‘matrix’), and a reinforcement of some kind, added primarily to increase the strength and stiffness of the matrix. This reinforcement is usually in fibre form. Today, the most common man-made composites can be divided into three main groups: Polymer Matrix Composites (PMC’s) – These are the most common and will be dis- cussed here. 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 (MMC’s) - Increasingly found in the automotive industry, these materials use a metal such as aluminium as the matrix, and reinforce it with fibres, or particles, such as silicon carbide. Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC’s) - Used in very high temperature environments, these materials use a ceramic as the matrix and reinforce it with short fibres, or whisk- ers such as those made from silicon carbide and boron nitride. 1.2 Polymer matrix composites Resin systems such as epoxies and polyesters have limited use for the manufacture of structures on their own, since their mechanical properties are not very high when compared to, for example, most metals. However, they have desirable properties, most notably their ability to be easily formed into complex shapes. Materials such as glass, aramid and boron have extremely high tensile and compressive strength but in ‘solid form’ these properties are not readily apparent. This is due to the fact that when stressed, random surface flaws will cause each material to crack and fail well below its theoretical ‘breaking point’. To overcome this problem, the material is produced in fibre form, so that, although the same number of random flaws will occur, they will be restricted to a small number of fibres with the remainder exhibit- ing the material’s theoretical strength. Therefore a bundle of fibres will reflect more accurately the optimum performance of the material. However, fibres alone can only exhibit tensile properties along the fibre’s length, in the same way as fibres in a rope. 4 - GTC-6-0417PDF Image | GUIDE TO COMPOSITES
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