ME206 – Manufacturing Process I

Lecture 16 – Composites

Amber Shrivastava
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

Acknowledgement: Prof. Pradeep Dixit

Composites in daily-life
Use of composites in aviation industry
 Why Composites are Important ?
• Composites can be very strong and stiff, yet very light in weight,
– Strength-to-weight ratio and stiffness-to-weight ratio are several times greater
than steel or aluminum
• Fatigue and toughness properties better than for common engineering metals
• Possible to achieve combinations of properties not attainable with metals,
ceramics, or polymers alone : e.g. corrosion-resistant composites
Limitations:
• Material properties of composites are anisotropic (different in different directions)
– the properties are different depending on the direction in which they are
measured – this may be an advantage or a disadvantage
• Polymer-based composites are subject to attack by chemicals or solvents, just as
the polymers themselves are susceptible to attack
• Composite materials are generally expensive than metals or polymers
• Shaping composite materials are often slow and costly
– Drilling a FRP sheet is more challenging than metals
 What are composite materials ?
• A materials system having physically distinct phases whose combination
produces aggregate properties different from those of its constituents
• Metal, Polymer, Ceramic, Composites
• Composite materials consist of two phases: primary and secondary
– Primary phase – Matrix (majority)
– Secondary – Reinforced (minority)
• Examples:
– Cemented carbides (WC with Co binder) – Metal Matrix Composites
– Plastic molding compounds containing fillers – Fiber reinforced polymers
– Rubber mixed with carbon black particles
(Primary)
(Secondary)
 Other Laminar Composite Structures
• Automotive tires - consists of multiple layers bonded together
• FRPs - multi layered fiber - -reinforced plastic panels for aircraft, automobile body
panels, boat hulls
• Printed circuit boards - layers of reinforced plastic and copper for electrical
conductivity and insulation
• Snow skis - composite structures consisting of layers of metals, particle board, and
phenolic plastic
• Windshield glass - two layers of glass on either side of a sheet of tough plastic
 Properties of Composite Materials

The fiber is stiff but brittle, while the matrix

(commonly a polymer) is soft but ductile.
(a) Model of a fiber reinforced - composite material showing direction in which elastic
modulus is being estimated by the rule of mixtures (b) Stress-strain relationships for the
composite material and its constituents.
 Properties of Composite Materials

Variation in elastic modulus and tensile - strength as a function of direction of

measurement relative to longitudinal axis of carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy composite
 Properties of Composite Materials
• In selecting a composite material, an optimum combination of properties is
usually sought, rather than one particular property
– Example: fuselage and wings of an aircraft must be lightweight and be
strong, stiff, and tough
– Several fiber reinforced - polymers possess this combination of properties
– Example: natural rubber alone is relatively weak, Adding significant
amounts of carbon black to NR increases its strength dramatically
• Properties are Determined by Three Factors:
– The materials used as component phases in the composite
– The geometric shapes of the constituents and resulting structure of the
composite system
– The manner in which the phases interact with one another
 Classification of composite materials
• Traditional composites – natural composite materials available in nature
– Examples: wood, concrete, asphalt
• Synthetic composites - modern man-made composite material
• Nearly all composite materials consist of two phases: Matrix, Reinforced
• Primary phase - forms the matrix within which the secondary phase is imbedded
– Provides the bulk form of the part or product
– Holds the imbedded (secondary) phase in place
– When a load is applied, the matrix shares the load with the secondary phase
– In some cases matrix deforms so that the stress is essentially born by the
reinforcing agent (secondary phase)
• Secondary phase - Reinforcing phase, because it usually serves to strengthen the
composite
– Function is to reinforce (strengthen) the primary phase
– In different forms : fibers, particles, or various other geometries
 Different types of Composites
• Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) - mixtures of ceramics and metals, such as
cemented carbides and other cermets
• Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) - Al2O3 and SiC imbedded with fibers to
improve properties, especially in high temperature applications
– The least common composite matrix
• Polymer Matrix Composites (PMCs) - thermosetting resins are widely used in
PMCs : Epoxy and polyester with fiber reinforcement, and phenolic with powders

Century Inc. Light-weighting Technology, successfully Composites with a aluminium 6061

combines an MMC brake wear surface inside a low-cost matrix have a good strength and higher
and easy-to-machine cast-aluminum drum brake body. ductility
 Types of composite materials

Physical shapes of imbedded phases in composite: (a) fiber, (b) particle, and (c) flake

• There are five basic types of composite materials:

– Fiber, particle, flake, laminar and filled composites.
– Based on the form of reinforced phase
 Fibres
• Filaments of reinforcing material, usually circular in cross-section
– Diameters range : From 0.0025 mm to 0.13 mm
• Filaments strengths the composites: Filament form stronger than the bulk form
– As diameter is reduced, the material becomes oriented in the fiber axis
direction and probability of defects in the structure decreases significantly
• Fibres can be continuous or discontinuous
• Fibres can be oriented in 3 possible cases:
– 1-D reinforcement: Max strength and stiffness in the direction of the fiber
– 2-D Planar reinforcement: In the form of a two-dimensional woven fabric
– Random or 3-D in which the composite material tends to possess isotropic
properties

Fiber orientation in composite - materials: (a) one-dimensional, continuous fibers; (b) planar, continuous
fibers in the form of a woven fabric; and (c) random, discontinuous fibers
 Materials for Fibers
• Fiber materials in fiber -reinforced composites:
– Glass – most widely used filament
– Carbon – high elastic modulus
– Boron – very high elastic modulus
– Polymers - Kevlar
– Metals - steel
• Glass – most widely used fiber in polymer composites called
glass fiber-reinforced plastic (GFRP)
– E-glass – strong and low cost, but modulus is less than
others (~500,000 psi)
– S-glass – highest tensile strength of all fiber materials
(~650,000 psi).
 Polymer Matrix Composites (PMCs)
• A polymer primary phase in which a secondary phase is imbedded as fibers,
particles, or flakes
• Commercially, PMCs are more important than MMCs or CMCs
• Examples: most plastic molding compounds, rubber reinforced with carbon
black, and fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs)
• Fiber-Reinforced Polymers (FRPs):
– FRPs are most closely identified with the term composite
– A PMC consisting of a polymer matrix imbedded with high-strength fibers
– Polymer matrix materials: Usually a thermosetting (TS) plastic such as
unsaturated polyester or epoxy
– Can also be thermoplastic (TP), such as nylons (polyamides),
polycarbonate, polystyrene, and polyvinylchloride
– Fiber reinforcement is widely used in rubber products such as tires and
conveyor belts
 Polymer Matrix Composites : FRP Applications
• Aerospace – much of the structural weight of todays airplanes and helicopters
consist of advanced FRPs
• Automotive – somebody panels for cars and truck cabs
– Continued use of low-carbon sheet steel in cars is evidence of its low cost
and ease of processing
• Sports and recreation
– - Fiberglass reinforced plastic has been used for boat hulls since the 1940s
• - Fishing rods, tennis rackets, golf club shafts, helmets, skis, bows and arrows.
 Polymer matrix composites
• Fiber Reinforced Plastics (FRP) are most closely identified with the term composite
• A composite material consisting of a polymer matrix imbedded with high-strength
fibers
• Widely used in rubber products such as tires and conveyor belts
• Principle fiber materials are: glass, carbon, and Kevlar
• Advanced composites use boron, carbon, Kevlar as the reinforcing fibers with epoxy
as the matrix
 Particles and Flakes
• A second common shape of imbedded phase is
particulate, ranging in size from microscopic to
macroscopic
• Flakes are basically two dimensional - particles - small
flat platelets
• The distribution of particles in the composite matrix is
random, and therefore strength and other properties
of the composite material are usually isotropic
• Strengthening mechanism depends on particle size

WC-Co cutting tools. Woven composite.

 Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs)
• A metal matrix reinforced by a second phase
• Reinforcing phases:
– Particles of ceramic (these MMCs are commonly called cermets)
– Fibers of various materials: other metals, ceramics, carbon, and boron
• Cermets: MMC with ceramic contained in a metallic matrix
– The ceramic often dominates the mixture, sometimes up to 96% by volume
– Bonding can be enhanced by slight solubility between phases at elevated
temperatures used in processing
– Cermets can be subdivided into
• Cemented carbides – most common
• Oxide based - cermets – less common
 Cemented Carbides
• One or more carbide compounds bonded in a metallic matrix
• Common cemented carbides are based on tungsten carbide (WC), titanium
carbide (TiC), and chromium carbide (Cr3C2)
• Tantalum carbide (TaC) and others are less common
• Metallic binders: usually cobalt (Co) or nickel (Ni)

Photomicrograph (about 1500X) Typical plot of hardness and - transverse

of - cemented carbide with 85% WC and 15% rupture strength as a function of cobalt
Co (photo courtesy of Kennametal Inc.) content
 Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs)
• A ceramic primary phase imbedded with a secondary phase, which usually
consists of fibers
• Attractive properties of ceramics: high stiffness, hardness, hot hardness, and
compressive strength; and relatively low density
• Weaknesses of ceramics: low toughness and bulk tensile strength,
susceptibility to thermal cracking
• CMCs represent an attempt to retain the desirable properties of ceramics
while compensating for their weaknesses