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Putting it together – the science and technology of composite materials

Light, strong and corrosion-resistant, composite materials are being used in an increasing number of
products as more manufacturers discover the benefits of these versatile materials.
Contents

Key text

Box 1. Composites in Australia

Activities
Further reading
Useful sites
Glossary

Key text

In an advanced society like ours we all depend on composite materials in some aspect of our lives.
Fibreglass, developed in the late 1940s, was the first modern composite and is still the most common. It
makes up about 65 per cent of all the composites produced today and is used for boat hulls,
surfboards, sporting goods, swimming pool linings, building panels and car bodies. You may well be
using something made of fibreglass without knowing it.

What makes a material a composite?

Composite materials are formed by combining two or more materials that have quite different
properties. The different materials work together to give the composite unique properties, but within
the composite you can easily tell the different materials apart – they do not dissolve or blend into each
other.

Composites exist in nature. A piece of wood is a composite, with long fibres of cellulose (a very
complex form of starch) held together by a much weaker substance called lignin. Cellulose is also
found in cotton and linen, but it is the binding power of the lignin that makes a piece of timber much
stronger than a bundle of cotton fibres.

Not a new idea

Humans have been using composite materials for thousands of years. Take mud bricks for example. A
cake of dried mud is easy to break by bending, which puts a tension force on one edge, but makes a
good strong wall, where all the forces are compressive. A piece of straw, on the other hand, has a lot
of strength when you try to stretch it but almost none when you crumple it up. But if you embed pieces
of straw in a block of mud and let it dry hard, the resulting mud brick resists both squeezing and
tearing and makes an excellent building material. Put more technically, it has both good compressive
strength and good tensile strength.

Another well-known composite is concrete. Here aggregate (small stones or gravel) is bound together
by cement. Concrete has good strength under compression, and it can be made stronger under
tension by adding metal rods, wires, mesh or cables to the composite (so creating reinforced
concrete).

Making a composite

Most composites are made up of just two materials. One material (the matrix or binder) surrounds
and binds together a cluster of fibres or fragments of a much stronger material (the reinforcement). In
the case of mud bricks, the two roles are taken by the mud and the straw; in concrete, by the cement
and the aggregate; in a piece of wood, by the cellulose and the lignin. In fibreglass, the reinforcement
is provided by fine threads or fibres of glass, often woven into a sort of cloth, and the matrix is a
plastic.

The threads of glass in fibreglass are very strong under tension but they are also brittle and will snap if
bent sharply. The matrix not only holds the fibres together, it also protects them from damage by
sharing any stress among them. The matrix is soft enough to be shaped with tools, and can be
softened by suitable solvents to allow repairs to be made. Any deformation of a sheet of fibreglass
necessarily stretches some of the glass fibres, and they are able to resist this, so even a thin sheet is
very strong. It is also quite light, which is an advantage in many applications.

Over recent decades many new composites have been developed, some with very valuable
properties. By carefully choosing the reinforcement, the matrix, and the manufacturing process that
brings them together, engineers can tailor the properties to meet specific requirements. They can, for
example, make the composite sheet very strong in one direction by aligning the fibres that way, but
weaker in another direction where strength is not so important. They can also select properties such
as resistance to heat, chemicals, and weathering by choosing an appropriate matrix material.

Choosing materials for the matrix

For the matrix, many modern composites use thermosetting or thermosoftening plastics (also called
resins). (The use of plastics in the matrix explains the name 'reinforced plastics' commonly given to
composites). The plastics are polymers that hold the reinforcement together and help to determine the
physical properties of the end product.

Thermosetting plastics are liquid when prepared but harden and become rigid (ie, they cure) when
they are heated. The setting process is irreversible, so that these materials do not become soft under
high temperatures. These plastics also resist wear and attack by chemicals making them very durable,
even when exposed to extreme environments.

Thermosoftening plastics, as the name implies, are hard at low temperatures but soften when they are
heated. Although they are less commonly used than thermosetting plastics they do have some
advantages, such as greater fracture toughness, long shelf life of the raw material, capacity for
recycling and a cleaner, safer workplace because organic solvents are not needed for the hardening
process.

Ceramics, carbon and metals are used as the matrix for some highly specialised purposes. For
example, ceramics are used when the material is going to be exposed to high temperatures (eg, heat
exchangers) and carbon is used for products that are exposed to friction and wear (eg, bearings and
gears).
Choosing materials for the reinforcement

Although glass fibres are by far the most common reinforcement, many advanced composites now use
fine fibres of pure carbon. Carbon fibres are much stronger than glass fibres, but are also more
expensive to produce. Carbon fibre composites are light as well as strong. They are used in aircraft
structures and in sporting goods (such as golf clubs), and increasingly are used instead of metals to
repair or replace damaged bones. Even stronger (and more costly) than carbon fibres are threads of
boron.

Polymers are not only used for the matrix, they also make a good reinforcement material in
composites. For example, Kevlar is a polymer fibre that is immensely strong and adds toughness to a
composite. It is used as the reinforcement in composite products that require lightweight and reliable
construction (eg, structural body parts of an aircraft). Composite materials were not the original use for
Kevlar – it was developed to replace steel in radial tyres and is now used in bulletproof vests and
helmets.

Choosing the manufacturing process

Making an object from a composite material usually involves some form of mould. The reinforcing
material is first placed in the mould and then semi-liquid matrix material is sprayed or pumped in to
form the object. Pressure may be applied to force out any air bubbles, and the mould is then heated to
make the matrix set solid.

The moulding process is often done by hand, but automatic processing by machines is becoming more
common. One of the new methods is called pultrusion (a term derived from the words 'pull' and
'extrusion'). This process is ideal for manufacturing products that are straight and have a constant
cross section, such as bridge beams.

In many thin structures with complex shapes, such as curved panels, the composite structure is built
up by applying sheets of woven fibre reinforcement, saturated with the plastic matrix material, over an
appropriately shaped base mould. When the panel has been built to an appropriate thickness, the
matrix material is then cured.

In many advanced composites (such as those used in the wing and body panels of aircraft), the
structure may consist of a honeycomb of plastic sandwiched between two skins of carbon-fibre
reinforced composite material. Such sandwich composites combine high strength, and particularly
bending stiffness, with low weight. Like everything to do with aircraft, they can be very costly!

So why use composites?

The greatest advantage of composite materials is strength and stiffness combined with lightness. By
choosing an appropriate combination of reinforcement and matrix material, manufacturers can produce
properties that exactly fit the requirements for a particular structure for a particular purpose (Box 1:
Composites in Australia).

Modern aviation, both military and civil, is a prime example. It would be much less efficient without
composites. In fact, the demands made by that industry for materials that are both light and strong has
been the main force driving the development of composites. It is common now to find wing and tail
sections, propellers and rotor blades made from advanced composites, along with much of the internal
structure and fittings. The airframes of some smaller aircraft are made entirely from composites, as are
the wing, tail and body panels of large commercial aircraft.

In thinking about planes, it is worth remembering that composites are less likely than metals (such as
aluminium) to break up completely under stress. A small crack in a piece of metal can spread very
rapidly with very serious consequences (especially in the case of aircraft). The fibres in a composite
act to block the widening of any small crack and to share the stress around.

The right composites also stand up well to heat and corrosion. This makes them ideal for use in
products that are exposed to extreme environments such as boats, chemical-handling equipment and
spacecraft. In general, composite materials are very durable.

Another advantage of composite materials is that they provide design flexibility. Composites can be
moulded into complex shapes – a great asset when producing something like a surfboard or a boat
hull.

The downside of composites is usually the cost. Although manufacturing processes are often more
efficient when composites are used, the raw materials are expensive. Composites will never totally
replace traditional materials like steel, but in many cases they are just what we need. And no doubt
new uses will be found as the technology evolves. We haven’t yet seen all that composites can do.

Box 1. Composites in Australia

Australia, like all advanced countries, is taking a big interest in composite materials, which many
people see as 'the materials of the future'. The main concern is to get the costs down, so that
composites can be used in products and applications which at present don’t justify the cost. At the
same time researchers want to improve the performance of the composites, such as making them
more resistant to impact.

One new technique involves 'textile composites'. Instead of the reinforcing fibres being put in place
individually, which is slow and costly, they can be knitted or woven together to make a sort of cloth.
This can even be three-dimensional rather than flat. The spaces between and around the textile fibres
are then filled with the matrix material (such as a resin) to make the product.

This process can quite easily be done by machines rather than by hand, making it faster and cheaper.
Connecting all the fibres together also means that the composite is less likely to be damaged when
struck.

With the costs coming down, other uses for composites are beginning to look attractive. Making the
hulls and superstructures of boats from composites takes advantage of their resistance to corrosion.
The Australian Navy’s new minehunters have composite hulls, since the magnetic effect of a steel hull
would interfere with mine detection.

Also in the pipeline are carriages for trains, trams and other 'people movers', made from composites
rather than steel or aluminium. Here the appeal is the lightness of the composites, as the vehicles then
use less energy. And we are going to see more and more composites in cars for the same reason.
Related site

• Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Composite Structures Ltd (Australia)

Activities

• Berkeley Lab (University of California, USA)

o I wonder what makes Kevlar so strong? – students follow five clues to answer the
question.
o Polymer modelling activity – uses paper clips to model the linking of polymers.
o Polymer fiber orientation activity – compares the 'tearability' of paper and plastic.
• Exploratorium (USA)
o Bone stress – uses polarised light to reveal stress patterns in clear plastic.
• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (University of Michigan, USA)
o Playing with polymers – students use cooked spaghetti to model a polymer.
• National Aeronautics Space Administration, USA
o Mud bricks – students test the effect of soil particle size when making mud bricks.

Further reading

Australasian Science
November/December 1999, pages 31-32
Smart materials extend the life of cracked structures (by Kelly Tsoi)
Explains how smart materials can sense the presence of a growing crack and then close it.
September 1999, pages 38-39
Plastics with attitude (by Leon-Kane Maguire)
Discusses some of the uses of the latest smart plastics.
Ecos
No. 130, 2006, page 35
New geopolymers have multiple benefits
Describes a new composite building material that is recyclable and produces lower emissions than
concrete.

Materials Australia
February 2008, pages 41-43
Fibre composites – weaving our engineering future (by Anthony Kelly)
Covers use of composites in aircraft and problems with their use.

Materials Monthly
February 2007, page 5
Wood-cement composite a winner (by David Salt)
Describes research on wood-cement composites that won three international prizes.
New Scientist
26 January 2008, pages 28-29
Hopes build for eco-concrete (by Rachel Nowak)
Investigates the potential of the geopolymer E-Crete to replace ordinary concrete.
7 October 2007
Smart composite detects and repairs airplane cracks (by Paul Marks)
Describes composite material that detects and repairs cracks in airplanes.
30 March 2007, page 25
‘Plastic plane’ takes shape
Reports on the use of a plastic composite in the assembly of the Boeing 787 jetliner.
15 July 2005, pages 38-41
Warning signs (by Paul Marks)
Describes the need for ways to monitor and predict when composite plastics used in planes are weak.
28 May 2005, page 21
Testing times for composite flight (by Paul Marks)
How will the new breed of composite aircraft be guaranteed safe to fly?
4 September 2004, page 28
Is this curtains for concrete? (by Mick Hamer)
Using tough, lightweight composites allows structures to be built or strengthened in days rather than
months.
Inside Science (No. 137), 20 January 2001
Perfect partnerships (by Tom Matthams)
Describes combining different materials to produce a composite with the right attributes.
Scientific American
December 2007, pages 11-12
Repairs without rivets (by David Appell)
Explores a quick-fix alternative for bridges using carbon-fibre composites.
October 1999, pages 44-51
Why things break (by Mark E. Eberhart)
Explains how it is possible to predict whether a solid shatters or bends.

Useful sites

What's a composite? (about.com, USA)

A general introduction to composite materials.

http://composite.about.com/od/aboutcompositesplastics/l/aa060297.htm

What are composites? (Composites Institute of Australia)

A brief look at composites and their manufacturing advantages.

http://www.compinst.asn.au/industry.html

Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering

• Fibre reinforced polymers – from aerospace to infrastructure

This 1999 article discusses the use of composite materials in four industries – aerospace,
automotive, offshore oil and gas and construction.
 http://www.atse.org.au/index.php?sectionid=409
• Tomorrow's plastic cars
This article looks at how fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites can be used in the
automotive industry as alternatives to traditional materials.
http://www.atse.org.au/index.php?sectionid=433

Clay based nanocomposites (Azom.com, Australia)

Provides information on nanoscale clay-polymer composites.

http://www.azom.com/details.asp?ArticleID=936

Introduction to composites in construction (Network Group for Composites and Construction,

UK)

Broad range of information about composites in construction. Covers manufacturing techniques,

engineering properties and designing with composites. Also has a glossary of terms used in the
plastics industry. Written for those with little prior knowledge of composites.
http://www.ngcc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=26&tabid=455

Carbon fibre cars (The Science Show, Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Discusses how researchers at Deakin University have produced a carbon composite which can be
made more quickly and cheaply, which could make car bodies lighter and safer.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ss/stories/s1318436.htm

Glossary

compressive strength and tensile strength. Strength is determined by how much weight a material
can support or how much stress it can withstand. Compressive strength is the maximum stress that a
material will bear when it is subjected to a load that pushes it together. Tensile strength is the
maximum stress a material will bear when it is subjected to a stretching load.

fibreglass. A composite material made of fine glass fibres woven into a cloth then bonded together
with a synthetic plastic or resin.

plastics. Solid materials consisting of organic polymers. More information can be found at How is
plastic made? (Plastics Resource, USA).

polymer. Polymers are large molecules that are made up of many units (monomers) linked
together in a chain. There are naturally occurring polymers (eg, starch and DNA) and synthetic
polymers (eg, nylon and silicone). More information can be found at The basics – polymer
definition and properties (Plastic Resource, USA), Introduction to polymers (Case Western
Reserve University, USA) and History of polymers and plastics for teachers (Hands On
Plastics, American Plastics Council).
pultrusion.A continuous moulding process that mechanically aligns long strands of
reinforcements for a composite material then passes them through a bath of thermosetting
resin. The coated strands are then assembled by a mechanical guide before the curing
process. More information can be found at The pultrusion process (About Composite Materials,
USA).

stress. Force per unit area. It is measured in the same units as pressure, namely pascals (Pa).
Materials typically have strengths in the megapascal (MPa) range (1 MPa = 1,000,000 Pa).

External sites are not endorsed by the Australian Academy of Science.

Posted November 2000.

The Australian Foundation for Science is also a supporter of Nova.

This topic is sponsored by the Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Composite Structures Ltd and the Australian
Government's National Innovation Awareness Strategy.

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