CH 09

Chapter 9
Composite Materials: Structure,

General Properties, and
Applications
QUALITATIVE PROBLEMS
9.17 How do you think the use of straw mixed with clay originally came about in
making brick for dwellings?
By the student. Someone probably accidentally mixed straw with clay. When the baked
clay was broken up, it was noticed that the straw held the fractured pieces together and
prevented the clay block from crumbling.
9.18 What products have you personally seen that are made of reinforced plastics?
How can you tell?
By the student. Some examples are chairs, tennis rackets, and boat hulls. The reinforced
structure can be identied by observing the surface texture (small irregular bumps) and
when fractured, the fracture pattern (bers showing through). The stiness-to-weight
ratio of reinforced plastic products, as compared to ordinary plastics, is also a denitive
method of identication. Perhaps the simplest technique is direct examination, since a
laminate structure or even the reinforcing bers can be seen directly, especially using a
magnifying glass.
9.19 Describe applications that are not well suited for composite materials. Ex-
plain.
By the student. This is an open-ended problem that can be answered in a number of
ways. One of the main drawbacks to composite materials is that they are expensive, so
that low-cost items such as childrens toys or simple plastic parts cannot be produced
economically using composites. Also, it is relatively easy to produce thin, laminated
structures from reinforced polymers, but bulky shapes are dicult to produce unless
they are metal-matrix or ceramic-matrix composites.
102
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Composite Materials: Structure, General Properties, and Applications 103
9.20 Is there a dierence between a composite material and a coated material?
Explain.
This is an open-ended problem that can be answered in a number of ways. Coatings are
typically very thin and do not aect the stiness of a material. Furthermore, a coating
generally does not serve a structural purpose, whereas a composite material can support
high applied loads, in addition to possessing various other characteristics. Composite
materials usually incorporate many reinforcements, whereas a coating covers only one
item.
9.21 Identify metals and alloys that have strengths comparable to those of rein-
forced plastics.
By the student. A typical comparison is given below:
Metal (MPa) Reinforced plastic (MPa)
Magnesium (165-195) Nylon (70-210)
Polyester (110-160)
Aluminum alloys (90-600) ABS (100)
Acetal (135)
Nylon (70-210)
Polycarbonate (110)
Polyester (110-160)
Polypropylene (40-100)
Copper alloys (140-1310) Nylon (70-210)
Polyester (40-100)
Iron (185-285) Nylon (70-210)
Note that reinforced epoxy has such a wide range of strength levels that it can be
comparable to almost all metals. It is the only reinforced plastic that is capable of
achieving the strength levels of steels, and nickel and titanium alloys.
9.22 What limitations or disadvantages do composite materials have? What sug-
gestions would you make to overcome the limitations?
By the student. There are many disadvantages that could be suggested based on the
students experience. Two examples of disadvantages are anisotropy of properties and
possible environmental attack of the bers (especially water adsorption). Anisotropy
of properties (which is not always undesirable) can be reduced by having a random
dispersion of reinforcing materials. Environmental attack of the bers would cause loss
of ber strength and possibly debonding from the matrix (see also Section 9.3 on p. 221).
Applying a thin protective coating to the composite and selecting appropriate matrix
and ber materials can help reduce environmental attack.
9.23 Give examples of composite materials other than those described in this
chapter.
By the student. Some additional examples of composite materials are:
i. wood, which has a natural honeycomb structure of cellulose bers,
ii. metal-matrix composites of aluminum and silicon carbide
iii. copper-inltrated, powder-metal ferrous gears,
iv. particle board, which consists of wood chips and a binder, and
v. steel-belted radial tires.
9.24 Explain why the behavior of the materials depicted in Fig. 9.5 is as shown.
The matrix material (nylon 6,6) generally has poor thermal conductivity and creep
resistance, and high electrical resistance and thermal expansion. Both carbon and glass
bers raise the endurance limit and wear resistance of the nylon because they raise
the strength of the material. Both reinforcements increase the thermal conductivity
since they have higher thermal conductivity than the nylon matrix. This argument also
explains the increase in creep resistance and the decrease in thermal expansion coecient
of a composite by ber addition.
9.25 Explain why bers are so capable of supporting a major portion of the tensile
load in composite materials.
This is best explained by Example 9.1 on p. 224. Because bers are much stier than the
matrix, and the bers and matrix strain the same amount, the bers end up supporting
the major portion of the applied load.
9.26 Do metal-matrix composites have any advantages over reinforced plastics?
Explain.
Metal matrix composites have the same advantages of reinforced plastics compared to
other materials, that is, high strength-to-weight and stiness-to-weight ratios. The
metal, like the plastic matrix, protects the bers from chemical attack. In general, the
main advantage of metal matrix composites over reinforced plastics is that the operating
temperatures allowed are signicantly higher.
9.27 Give reasons for the development of ceramic-matrix composites. Name some
applications, and explain why they should be eective.
Ceramic-matrix composites have the advantages of high strength-to-weight and stiness-
to-weight ratios associated with composite materials, but a much higher allowable oper-
ating temperature. Further, the reinforcement tends to make the material tougher than
typical ceramics. Applications are mainly aerospace and turbine engine components.
9.28 Explain how you would go about determining the hardness of reinforced
plastics and of composite materials. Are hardness measurements on these
types of materials meaningful? Does the size of the indentation make any
dierence? Explain.
The hardness of a composite is somewhat dicult to obtain. Since the depth of plastic
deformation in a hardness test projects much deeper than the indentor penetration (see
Fig. 2.14c on p. 70), it is dicult to know beforehand how many, if any, bers are loaded
during a hardness test. The smaller the indentation, the fewer the bers that will be
loaded. This means that the repeatability will increase as the indention size increases,
but with only limited usefulness.
9.29 How would you go about trying to determine the strength of a ber?
By the student. One can either try to perform a tension test on a single ber (with
much care, as ensuring that the ber fails within a test section is important), or else
the breaking strength of a number of bers could be determined and an average value of
ber strength can be found. Finally, one could use microhardness testing techniques on a
ber inside a sectioned and lapped composite to estimate the strength (see Section 2.6.2
starting on p. 70), although the anisotropic nature of the ber will aect the results.
9.30 Glass bers are said to be much stronger than bulk glass. Why is this so?
The glass bers are stronger than bulk glass for a number of reasons. The glass used
for bers is of higher purity and greater care is taken in its manufacture. A ber with
a small cross-section is far less likely to have a large aw than one with a larger cross-
section. Surface aws, which reduce strength, are also smaller for the same reason. The
drawing process which produces bers, in eect, proof stresses the ber, so that weak
bers do not survive the manufacturing process.
9.31 Describe situations in which a glass could be used as a matrix material.
By the student. The matrix is generally used to provide toughness and chemical pro-
tection to the bers. However, with glass it is not likely that this will be the case, and
in fact reinforcement for glass usually consists of steel wires. The glass provides the
structural strength, and the metal contributes to the tensile strength, and also keeps
the fragments together if the glass fractures. A common product is glass sheet or plate
reinforced by a chicken-wire type of mesh for structural applications.
9.32 When the American Plains states were settled, no trees existed for the con-
struction of housing. Pioneers cut bricks from sodbasically, prairie soil as
a matrix and grass and its root system as reinforcement. Explain why this
approach was successful.
When grass grows from the earth, it is the same eect as the straw in clay bricks (which
was the rst composite material used). If this type of brick was used in a wall, the
orientation would be decided by the type and direction of loading. A wind load, for
example, would subject a wall to bending. In this case, the grass should be oriented in
the same direction as the applied bending moment.
9.33 By incorporating small amounts of a blowing agent, it is possible to manu-
facture hollow polymer bers with gas cores. List possible applications for
such bers.
The benets of a gas core are that the polymer is lighter than other polymers, and that
the polymer will have a lower thermal conductivity. This has benecial applications in
the production of, for example, cold-weather clothing, which can be made simultaneously
lightweight and insulating.
9.34 Referring to Fig. 9.2c, would there be an advantage in using layers of cloth
(woven bers) instead of continuous ber stacks without weaving? Explain.
Yes, there would be an advantage, and this can be especially pronounced in some ap-
plications. For example, for the production of armor, it is known that a weave requires
more energy to penetrate; this is attributable to the inability of bers to move laterally,
and the projectile needs to fracture more bers.
9.35 Is it possible to design a composite material that has a Poissons ratio of zero
in a desired direction? Explain. Can a composite material be designed that
has a thermal conductivity of zero in a desired direction? Explain.
QUANTITATIVE PROBLEMS
9.36 Calculate the average increase in the properties of the plastics given in Table
7.1 as a result of their reinforcement, and describe your observations.
The results are summarized below:
Material Unreinforced, ave. Reinforced, ave. Average increase
(MPa) (MPa) (%)
ABS, UTS 42 100 59
E 2100 7500 54
Acetal, UTS 63 135 73
E 2500 10,000 76
Epoxy, UTS 88 735 650
E 10,300 36,500 263
Nylon, UTS 69 140 71
E 2100 6000 39
Polycarbonate, UTS 63 110 48
E 2800 6000 33
Polyester, UTS 55 135 80
E 2000 10,200 82
Polypropylene, UTS 28 70 43
E 1000 4800 38
9.37 In Example 9.1, what would be the percentage of the load supported by the
bers if their strength were 1000 MPa and the matrix strength were 200
MPa? What would be the answer if the ber stiness were doubled and the
matrix stiness were halved?
A review of the calculations on p. 224 indicates that the strength of the materials involved
does not inuence the results. Since the problem refers only to changes in strength, it
is assumed that the moduli of elasticity are the same as in the original example.
Lets now consider the problem where the strengths are the same as in the original
example, but the stiness of the ber is doubled (to 600 GPa) while that of the matrix
is halved (to 50 GPa). The percentage of the load supported by the bers can then be
calculated as follows:
E
c
= (0.2)(600) + (1 0.2)(50) = 120 + 40 = 160 GPa
Also,
P
f
P
m
=
(0.20)(600)
(0.8)(50)
=
120
40
= 3
or
P
c
= P
f
+P
f
/3 = 1.33P
f
and thus
P
f
= 0.75P
c
Thus, the bers support 75% of the load in this composite material. As expected, this
percentage is higher than the 43% in the sample calculations on p. 224.
9.38 Calculate the percent increase in the mechanical properties of reinforced
nylon from the data shown in Fig. 9.5.
As was given in the answer to Problem 9.33, the results are:
Unreinforced, ave. Reinforced, ave. Average increase
(MPa) (MPa) (%)
UTS 69 140 71
E 2100 6000 39
9.39 Plot E/ and E/
0.5
for the composite materials listed in Table 9.1, and com-
pare your results with the properties of the materials described in Chapters
4 through 8. (See also Table 9.2.)
The plots are as follows:
Kevlar 49
Kevlar 29
S type glass
E type glass
High mod. carbon
High strength carbon
Boron
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25
E/
1/2
(GPa/(kg/m
3
)
1/2
)
E/ (GPa/(kg/m
3
))
Kevlar 49
Kevlar 29
S type glass
E type glass
High mod. carbon
High strength carbon
Boron
0 2 4 6 8 10
9.40 Calculate the stress in the bers and in the matrix in Example 9.1. Assume
that the cross-sectional area is 0.25 in
2
and P
c
= 500 lb.
If the total load is 500 lb., the bers support 43% of this load, or 215 lb. The total
cross-sectional area of the bers is (0.2)(0.1 in
2
)=0.02 in
2
. The tensile stress in the
bers is then
f
=
P
f
A
f
=
215 lb
0.02 in
2
= 10.75 ksi
The stress in the matrix is calculated in a similar manner. It is found that the load is
285 lb, the area is 0.08 in
2
, and therefore the stress is 3.5 ksi.
9.41 Repeat the calculations in Example 9.1 if (a) Nextel 610 ber is used and
(b) Spectra 2000 is used.
The dierence between these two problems is the stiness of the bers. For high-modulus
carbon bers, E = 415 GPa, while for Kevlar 29, E = 62 GPa. Using the same approach
as in Example 9.1 on p. 225, for high-modulus carbon bers we have
E
c
= (0.2)(415 GPa) + (1 0.2)(100 GPa) = 163 GPa
and
P
f
P
m
= 0.2
(415)
0.8(100)
= 1.0375
Therefore, P
f
= 0.51P
c
. For the Kevlar, E
c
= 92.4 GPa, P
f
/P
m
= 0.155, or P
f
= 0.13P
c
.
9.42 Refer to the properties listed in Table 7.1. If acetal is reinforced with E-type
glass bers, what is the range of ber content in glass-reinforced acetal?
For E-type glass bers, the elastic modulus is obtained from Table 9.2 on p. 220 as 73
GPa. Acetal has an elastic modulus between 1.4 and 3.5 GPa, while for reinforced acetal
the modulus is listed as 10 GPa. If a composite is made with acetal and E-type glass
bers, its stiness is given by Eq. (9.5) on p. 225, which can be solved for the volume
fraction of bers, x. For example, for the less sti acetal:
E
c
= 10 GPa = xE
f
+ (1 x)E
m
= x(73 GPa) + (1 x)(1.4 GPa) x = 0.12
or 12%. Using the same equation for sti acetal, we have x = 0.093, or 9.3%.
9.43 Plot the elastic modulus and strength of an aluminum metal-matrix compos-
ite with high-modulus carbon bers, as a function of ber content.
The stiness of high-modulus carbon bers is 415 GPa (see Table 9.2 on p. 220), while
the stiness of aluminum is 69 GPa (Table 2.2 on p. 59). The stiness is given by Eq.
(9.5):
E
c
= xE
f
+ (1 x)E
m
= x(415 GPa) + (1 x)(69 GPa) = (346 GPa)x + 69 GPa
The plot is shown below.
E
l
a
s
t
i
c

m
o
d
u
l
u
s

(
G
P
a
)
0
150
300
450
Volume fraction of fibers, x
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
9.44 For the data in Example 9.1, what should be the ber content so that the
bers and the matrix fail simultaneously? Use an allowable ber stress of
200 MPa and a matrix strength of 30 MPa.
The stress in the bers is given by
f
= P
f
/A
f
= P
f
/(xA
c
). The stress in the matrix is
m
=
P
m
A
m
=
1
1 x
P
m
A
c
Also, from Eq. (9.4) on p. 244:
P
f
=
A
f
E
f
A
m
E
m
P
m
=
xA
c
E
f
(1 x)A
c
E
m
P
m
=
x
1 x
E
f
E
m
P
m
Substituting into the equation for ber stress gives
f
=
P
f
xA
c
=
1
1 x
E
f
E
m
P
m
A
c
Substituting E
f
/E
m
= 3,
f
= 200 MPa, and
m
= 50 MPa yields two equations (for
m
and
f
) and two unknowns (x and P
m
/A
c
). These are solved numerically to give a
value of x = 0.57.
9.45 It is desired to obtain a composite material with a target stiness of 10
GPa. If a high strength carbon ber is to be used, determine the required
ber volume if the matrix is (a) nylon, (b) polyester, (c) acetal, and (d)
polyethylene.
From Table 9.2, E
f
= 275 GPa, and from Table 7.1, E
nylon
= 2.1 GPa, E
polyester
= 2
GPa, E
acetal
= 2.45 GPa and E
polyethylene
= 0.25 GPa, where average values have been
taken when Table 7.1 gives a range of stinesses. From Eq. (9.5) on p. 223,
E
c
= 10 GPa = xE
f
+ (1 x)E
m
Therefore:
for nylon,
10 = x(275) + (1 x)(2.1)
or x = 2.89%.
for polyester,
10 = x(275) + (1 x)(2)
or x = 2.93%
for acetal,
10 = x(275) + (1 x)(2.45)
or x = 2.77%
for polyethylene,
10 = x(275) + (1 x)(0.25)
or x = 3.55%
9.46 A rectangular cantilever beam, 100 mm high, 20 mm wide, and 1 m long,
is subjected to a concentrated load of 50 kg at its end. (a) Consider a
polymer reinforced with high modulus carbon bers, with a ber volume
ratio of x = 10%. What is the maximum deection of the beam if the matrix
material is polyester? (b) Obtain the deection of the beam if aluminum or
steel was used, for the same beam dimensions. (c) What ber volume ratio
is needed to produce the same deection as the aluminum or steel beams?
(d) Determine the weight of the beams considered in parts (b) and (c), and
compare them.
For a cantilever, the maximum deection can be derived or looked up in a solid mechanics
textbook, and is
y
max
=
Fl
3
3EI
where
I =
1
12
bh
3
=
1
12
(0.020)(0.10)
3
= 2.0 10
5
m
4
F = 50 kg = 490.5 N
and l = 1 m.
i. For high modulus bers, E = 415 GPa from Table 9.1 on p. 218. From Table 7.1
for polyester, E=2 GPa. From Eq. (9.5),
E
c
= xE
f
(1 x)E
m
= (0.10)(415) + (0.90)(2) = 43.3 GPa
Therefore, the deection is
y =
(490.5)(1)
3
3(43.3 10
9
)(2.0 10
5
)
= 0.0001888 = 0.189 mm
ii. This solution will use aluminum, but the same approach can be used for steel. Noting
that E = 70 GPa from Table 2.1, then the deection is
y =
(490.5)(1)
3
3(70 10
9
)(2.0 10
5
)
= 0.117 mm
iii. To obtain the same deection, one needs to design the composite to have the same
stiness as aluminum, so that E = 70 GPa. Therefore, from Eq. (9.5),
70 = x(415) + (1 x)(2)
or x = 0.165 = 16.5%.
iv. From Table 3.1, the density of aluminum is = 2700 kg/m
3
. The volume of the
cantilever is
V = (0.1)(0.02)(1) = 0.002 m
3
Therefore, the beam weighs (2700)(0.002) = 5.4 kg, or 53.0 N.
SYNTHESIS, DESIGN AND PROJECTS
9.47 What applications for composite materials can you think of in addition to
those given in Section 9.4? Why do you think your applications would be
suitable for these materials?
By the student. Other components that could benet from the weight savings oered
by graphite-epoxy reinforced plastics are landing-gear doors, fuselage doors, and cowl
components of the engine.
9.48 Using the information given in this chapter, develop special designs and
shapes for possible new applications of composite materials.
By the student. The approaches may include examining a particular component and
reproducing the geometry using a composite material. Alternatively, one can select a
particular aspect of composites (such as high strength-to-weight and stiness-to-weight
ratios) and design a product, such as a desk or sports equipment that is very lightweight.
9.49 Would a composite material with a strong and sti matrix and a soft and
exible reinforcement have any practical uses? Explain.
By the student. This type of composite probably will have a higher toughness than
the matrix alone, since the soft and exible reinforcement material could blunt a prop-
agating crack. However, its usefulness would depend on whether or not it has a higher
combination of strength and toughness than that of a composite with a ductile matrix
and strong reinforcement.
9.50 Make a list of products for which the use of composite materials could be
advantageous because of their anisotropic properties.
By the student. Some products where anisotropic properties of composites can be useful
are: cables, packing tape (where the ber is oriented to prevent boxes from opening
and generates a circumferential reinforcement), pressure vessels, tubing, and tires (steel-
belted radials).
9.51 Inspect Fig. 9.1 and explain what other components of an aircraft, including
the cabin, could be made of composites.
By the student. Other applications for composites in airplanes could be fuselage doors,
seats, overhead storage compartments, and trays and their brackets.
9.52 Name applications in which both specic strength and specic stiness are
important.
By the student. Specic strength and specic modulus are important in applications
where the material should be light and possess high strength and stiness. A few possible
applications are structural components for aircraft, helicopter blades, and automobile
body panels.
9.53 What applications for composite materials can you think of in which high
thermal conductivity would be desirable? Explain.
By the student. Composites with high thermal conductivity would be important for
applications such as heat exchangers (such as car radiators) and heat extractors in
nuclear reaction chambers.
9.54 As with other materials, the mechanical properties of composites are ob-
tained by preparing appropriate specimens and then testing them. Explain
what problems you might encounter in preparing such specimens for testing
in tension. Suggest methods for making appropriate specimens, including
their shape and how they would be clamped into the jaws of testing ma-
chines.
By the student. Testing composite materials is challenging because of the potential for
anisotropic behavior, which may lead to signicant warpage during the test. Better ap-
proaches would involve measuring deformations in more than one direction (as opposed
to conventional tests where typically only the longitudinal strain is measured). Tradi-
tional tensile specimens (see Fig. 2.1a on p. 57) can be used if no other strains are to be
measured, or if the ber orientation is known.
9.55 Developments are taking place in techniques for three-dimensional reinforce-
ment of composites. Describe (a) applications in which strength in the thick-
ness direction of the composite is important and (b) your ideas on how to
achieve this strength. Include simple sketches of the structure utilizing such
reinforced plastics.
The thickness direction is important in, for example, thick-walled pressure vessels. These
thick-walled pipes are common for high-pressure service of hydraulic uids, as well as for
residential water service. Radial reinforcement can be imparted using properly oriented,
discontinuous bers.
9.56 Design and describe a test method to determine the mechanical properties
of reinforced plastics in their thickness direction. (Note, for example, that
plywood is weak in its thickness direction.)
By the student. This is a very dicult problem with many potential answers, but with no
obvious answers. The mechanical properties in the thickness direction are very dicult to
measure because of the small thickness as compared with the surface area of a specimen.
An acceptable approach may be to derive the properties in the thickness direction by
performing tests in the other principal directions, and then applying a known failure
criterion.
9.57 As described in this chapter, reinforced plastics can be adversely aected by
the environmentin particular, moisture, chemicals, and temperature varia-
tions. Design and describe test methods to determine the mechanical prop-
erties of composite materials subjected to these environmental conditions.
By the student. Even simple experiments, such as tension tests, are suitable if they are
conducted in a controlled atmosphere. Chambers are commonly installed around test
specimens for such environmentally-controlled testing.
9.58 Comment on your observations on the design of the sailboard illustrated in
Fig. 9.8.
By the student. A number of observations are possible, including the use of a honeycomb
structure for light weight and sti performance, protected by an exterior skin. There
are several layers in the surf board, each for dierent reasons, such as wear resistance,
stiness, and toughness.
9.59 Make a survey of various sports equipment and identify the components
made of composite materials. Explain the reasons for and the advantages of
using composites in these specic applications.
By the student. Examples include rackets for tennis, badminton, and racquetball; base-
ball and softball bats; golf clubs; shing rods; and skis and ski poles. The main reason is
the light weight of these materials, combined with high stiness and strength, resulting
in superior performance.
9.60 Several material combinations and structures were described in this chap-
ter. In relative terms, identify those that would be suitable for applications
involving each of the following: (a) very low temperatures, (b) very high
temperatures, (c) vibrations, and (d) high humidity.
This is an open-ended problem with a large number of possible answers. Examples of
acceptable answers are:
i. At very low temperatures, most materials become brittle. One of the concerns with
a composite material is the eect of thermal strains, which would suggest selecting
a material with closely-matched thermal expansion coecients for ber and matrix
(see Section 3.6 on p. 93).
ii. For very high temperatures, ceramic-matrix composites are the superior choice, as
discussed in this chapter.
iii. In an environment where vibration is a concern, any composite is a good choice
because of damping due to energy dissipation at the matrix-ber interfaces.
iv. High humidity applications can utilize any of the materials described in this chapter,
except for polymeric matrices, such as nylons, which are hygroscopic.
9.61 Obtain a textbook on composite materials, and investigate the eective sti-
ness of a continuous ber-reinforced polymer. Plot the stiness of such a
composite as a function of orientation with respect to the ber direction.
For this case, let the subscripts m refer to the matrix and f to the ber. A temperature
increase in the composite causes a strain of
c
=
c
T; this strain is also the strain
encountered by both the ber and the matrix. We can then write:
f
=
f
T +P
t
/A
f
E
f
m
=
m
T +P
t
/A
m
E
m
where P
t
is an internal force which develops to ensure the ber and matrix have the
same strain. Since
f
=
m
, these equations can be equated to each other to obtain an
expression for P
t
:
f
T +
P
t
A
f
E
f
=
m
T +
P
t
A
m
E
m
P
t
=
(
m
f
)T
1
A
f
E
f
1
A
m
E
m
Now, by equating
c
to either
f
or
m
we obtain:
c
=
A
m
E
m
m
A
f
E
f
f
A
m
E
m
A
f
E
f
9.62 It is possible to make bers or whiskers with a varying cross section, or a
wavy ber. What advantages would such bers have?
A common failure mode for ber-reinforced polymers is the delamination of the ber
from the matrix. It is not uncommon for a relatively small stress to cause failure of the
interface between the ber and the matrix because of low adhesion between these two
materials. By using wavy bers, the strength of the ber/matrix interface is increased
by mechanical interference (locking) between the bers and the matrix. There is also a
larger interfacial area along which adhesion can take place, thus improving the interfacial
strength.
9.63 Describe how you can produce some simple composite materials using raw
materials that are available around a home. Explain.
By the student. For example, a composite material can be produced simply by mixing
common household glue with sewing thread, or by gluing several layers of fabric together.
Other examples include chocolate-chip cookies (with nuts), marbled rye bread, cement
mixed with wire reinforcement, and putty mixed with small nails.
9.64 Gel spinning is a specialized process used in making bers with high strength
or special properties. Search the technical literature, and write a brief paper
on this subject.
By the student. Gel spinning is a special process used to obtain high strength or special
ber properties. The polymer is not completely melted or dissolved in liquid, but the
molecules are bound together at various points in liquid-crystal form. This operation
produces strong inter-chain forces in the resulting laments, that can signicantly in-
crease the tensile strength of the bers. In addition, the liquid crystals are aligned along
the ber axis by the strain encountered during extrusion. The laments emerge from
the spinneret with an unusually high degree of orientation relative to each other, further
enhancing strength. This process is also called dry-wet spinning, because the laments
rst pass through air and then are cooled further in a liquid bath. Some high-strength
polyethylene and aramid bers are produced by gel spinning.
9.65 Figure P9.65 shows a section of a three-dimensional weave that uses a binder
yarn to tie layers of bers together. Conduct a literature search, and deter-
mine the advantages and limitations of using three-dimensional weaves as
reinforcements in composite materials.
By the student. This is a challenging topic, requiring literature search. An example of
an orthogonal three-dimensional weave is shown in the accompanying gure, to give a
perspective to the items listed below.
In general, the following comments can be made regarding three-dimensional weaves as
compared to laminate composites:
The through-thickness properties can be tailored for a particular application and
can be superior for 3D-weaves.
3D woven composites have a higher delamination resistance and impact damage
tolerance than 2D laminated composites.
Dierent materials can be blended into a ber prior to weaving. Indeed, most
clothing involves blends of polymers or of polymers and natural bers such as cotton
or linen.
The size of the weave can be varied more easily to allow for changes in the structure
of such a material.
3D woven composites are more dicult and expensive to manufacture than 2D
composites produced from laminated materials.
3D woven composites have lower mechanical properties than laminated composites.

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Chapter 9

Composite Materials: Structure,

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