General Introduction
Mechanical Properties
Applications/Fabrication Methods
Material Characteristics
DEFINITION OF A COMPOSITE
MATERIAL
General:
A synergistic combination of two or
more other materials
Specific:
A matrix phase, reinforced by high
strength fibres or particles
Fibre and Matrix Purposes
Reinforcement:
•Provides stiffness and strength
•Continuous or discontinuous
•Can be oriented to accommodate
applied stresses
Matrix:
•Bonds and protects the fibres
•Continuous
•Gives appearance and shape
•Important in off-axis loading
Composites form a broad and
important class of engineering
materials.
The global composite
materials industry reached
$19.6 billion in 2011*
Projected increase to $29.8
billion in 2017*
Composites are used in a wide
variety of applications.
Properties can be tailored to
suit service requirements.
*source: http://www.lucintel.com/Lucintel-
GlobalCompositeMarketAnalysis-ACMA2012-
EducationalSession.pdf
• Why would we consider building a boat from
composite materials rather than steel or
aluminium?
• What are the advantages?
• What are the disadvantages?
Many Materials are effectively composites, these include:
Wood, fibrous chains of cellulose molecules in a matrix
of lignum.
Bone and teeth, essentially composites of hard
inorganic crystals (hydroxyapatite or osteones)in a
matrix of tough organic constituent called collagen.
Artificial Composites, such as polymer composites CFRP
and GRP
Composite material properties usually show a marked
anisotropy - they vary when measured in different
directions.
We will discuss artificial composites in some detail since
these are what is normally used in the marine industry.
Artificial Composites
In artificial composites advantage is taken of the
anisotropy of the material to try and integrate the
material specification with the design.
Represents a departure from conventional design.
◦ Where usually isotropy is assumed.
In composite materials large anisotropies can be
produced.
Anisotropy of both stiffness and strength are
normally produced in artificial composite materials.
Alternative types of composite
Most industrial composites are based
on polymers:
◦ Thermosetting Plastics
◦ Thermo plastics
These are usually reinforced with
aligned fibres such as glass or
carbon.
They commonly exhibit marked
anisotropy in properties since the
matrix is much weaker and less stiff
than the fibres.
The figure demonstrates different
forms of fibre/matrix.
Fibre Glass:
◦ Over 90% usage in FRP
◦ Relatively inexpensive
◦ Good strength/weight ratio
Polymer Fibres (Aramids):
◦ e.g. Kevlar, Spectra, polyester fibres
◦ Low weight, high strength, high
modulus
◦ Nonlinear ductility
Carbon Fibre (Graphite):
◦ Highest strength and stiffness of all
common reinforcements
◦ High cost
From Marine Composites, Eric Greene Associates, 1999
It is important to consider the
properties of the constituents of
the composite.
The properties of interest are
usually:
◦ Young's modulus
◦ Failure strength
◦ Toughness
◦ Density
◦ Thermal properties
◦ Magnetic properties
These properties have a strong
effect on the mechanical
behaviour of any component.
Inspection of this data shows that some attractive property combinations
can be obtained (i.e. high stiffness and strength coupled with low density).
• In small groups:
• You are the design engineer for the RNLI and need to procure
some materials to build a new composite lifeboat
• What information might you need from the supplier to make an
informed decision about the suitability of the material?
Material Selection
Most important parameters for design of structures are:
• Material failure strength
• Material stiffness – Young’s Modulus
• Material density
• Material cost
Designer has to make the following choices:
• Strength of the material – structure must not fail!!
• Stiffness of the material – limiting structure deflection under load
• Space filling.
Optimisation function
• Weight critical
• Cost critical
14
Composite parts are often layered
structures (laminates), made from
many thin plies.
Ply architecture:
•Unidirectional
•Woven (plain, biased, twill, satin)
•Random-in-plane (chopped strand
mat)
•Biaxial/multiaxial
TYPES OF PLY
Undirectional Weave Random fibre mat: Bidirectional complex
0o/90o Chopped strand mat mat 0o/+/-45o/90o weave
(CSM) + random fibre
orientation
Or swirl mat
Frank Ko, Drexel University
Weight-saving
Corrosion resistance
Other special properties, such as non-
conductivity
E GPa Strength MPa SG Cost £/kg
UD aramid 80 2000 1.4 7
0/90 aramid 40 1000 1.4 7
UD carbon 210 2100 1.6 12
0/90 carbon 100 1050 1.5 12
UD glass 42 1200 1.9 2
0/90 glass 20 350 1.8 2.5
CSM 12 120 1.44 2.5
Aluminium 70 250 2.5 1.2
Steel 210 350 7.8 0.4
Designing composite materials
is not a simple matter.
It is useful to take a broad view
of property combinations that
can be obtained from different
materials and different
composite systems
This can be visualised using
property maps.
This shows a plot of modulus
against density for different
materials.
This can be done for different
properties and is a useful way
of comparing the potential
merits of different material
combinations.
Weight saving?
Specific stiffness = Young’s modulus
Specific gravity
This is a measure of the ability of a material to be used in stiff
structures of low weight
Strength
Specific strength = Specific gravity
This is a measure of the ability of a material to be used in
strong structures of low weight
U/D U/D
1000
0/90 0/90
Specific strength (MPa)
U/D
Composites
0/90
Titanium
100
CSM Aluminium
Metals
Wood Steel
10 100
Specific stiffness (GPa)
U/D U/D
1000
0/90 0/90 Most composites
outperform
Specific strength (MPa)
U/D
metals in terms of
specific strength
Composites
0/90
Titanium
100
CSM Aluminium
Metals
Wood Steel
10 100
Specific stiffness (GPa)
U/D U/D
1000
0/90 0/90 Most composites
outperform
Specific strength (MPa)
U/D
metals in terms of
specific strength
Composites
0/90
Titanium Only carbon
100
CSM Aluminium seriously
Metals outperforms
Wood Steel
metals in terms of
specific stiffness
10 100
Specific stiffness (GPa)
What about cost-effectiveness?
Stiffness/volume cost =
Young’s modulus
Cost per unit volume
This is a measure of the ability of a material to be used in stiff
structures of low cost
Strength
Strength/volume cost =
Cost per unit volume
This is a measure of the ability of a material to be used in strong
structures of low cost
U/D Strength/vol cost
is generally inferior
Strength/volume cost (MPa.litre/£)
to that of metals
U/D
(except U/D)
0/90
MetalsSteel
100 U/D
Aluminium
0/90
0/90 Wood
Stiffness/vol cost
Composites is generally inferior
CSM
to that of metals
10 100
Stiffness/volume cost (GPa.litre/£)
Advantages of composite materials
excellent corrosion resistance in a wide range of
aggressive environments.
high strength/weight ratio, light weight, easy to
handle easy to maintain easy to fabricate complex
shapes good thermal and electrical insulation.
good surface weathering properties easily
coloured, made translucent, surface textured.
low resistance to fluid flow in pipelines.
good abrasion resistance low taint and toxicity for
foodstuffs.
Comparing composites with traditional engineering
materials such as structural steel we see the following:
FRP laminates have a strength to weight ratio (specific
strength) of 2-10 times higher;
Stiffness to weight ratio varying from 2-3 times lower
for GRP to 2-10 times higher for CFRP.
High strength low stiffness of GRP means that design is
probably driven by buckling considerations.
By using intelligent shaping of the composite material
this can be effectively “designed out”.
Laminate failure usually involves brittle failure, therefor
strength properties need to take this into account to
prevent catastrophic failure.
Composites outperform metals in strength to weight
Glass fibre composites do not compete with metals on
stiffness to weight
There are often problems achieving the required local and
hull beam stiffness in glass fibre- this limits the size of craft
It is always necessary to check stiffness in glass fibre designs
Although composite parts are almost always more expensive
than metals to make, they are cheaper to install and do not
corrode- so the ‘through-life’ cost is often competitive.
