Laminates/Particulate Composite

Materials
 Laminate Composites
• Materials combine to produce properties not
present in any individual component
• What is a laminate composite? Layers of
different materials are joined together
• Can you think of any materials that are
used in your life that may be considered
a laminate composite?
 Design of Laminate Composites
• Designed to increase strength and decrease
cost
• Often have superior resistance to wear
• Lightweight
• Corrosion resistance
 Examples of Laminates
• Formica
– Layers of heavy kraft papers impregnated with
resin overlaid by a plastic decorated sheet that is
saturated with a plastic-saturated cellulose mat

• Heat and pressure are used to bond the

materials together
 Examples of Laminates
• Capacitors: Capacitors consist of alternating
layers of an insulator and a conductor
• Example: Aluminum/Mica

• The composite will have high conductivity

parallel to the plates, but will be insulating in
the perpendicular direction
 Kevlar
• Developed by DuPont in 1960s
Aramid synthetic fiber

• •Polymer Fiber with very high tensile strength

• •Often woven into composite materials
• •Many applications – tires, body armor, sports
 Kevlar Composites
• High tensile strength to weight ratio
– On a weight basis, stronger than steel

• Well-known component of body armor

– Woven into a fabric that is layered for stren
Formation of Laminar Composites
• Techniques used to form these composite
materials:
– Roll bonding
– Co-extrusion
– Brazing
 Particulate composites
• Particulate composites or particle reinforced
composites
• Particles suspended in matrix of another
material
– Materials can be metallic or non-metallic

• Two main types:

– Large-particle composites
– Dispersion-strengthened composites
 Particle Composites: Concrete
• Artificial stone-like material
• •Made by mixing cement and various
aggregates, such as sand, pebbles, gravel,
shale, etc., with water
– Matrix material: cement
– Reinforcement: sand/gravel

• Mixture is allowed to harden by hydration

 Particulate Composites: Concrete
• Non-metallic material in a non-metallic matrix
• Sand and gravel that is bonded in a matrix of
cement and water
• Chemically reacted and hardened to form
concrete
 Concrete
• Both Matrix and particles are considered
ceramic materials
• •Particles help reduce cost Cement is more
expensive

• Proportion of Particles-Matrix is important

– Aggregate particles can comprise ~60% of material
– Need enough matrix to coat particles, but not too
much
Dispersion-Strengthened Composites
• Contains particles ~0.01-0.1 μm (10-100 nm)
• Used to strengthen alloys – by interaction
between two phases
• Dispersed phase is often hard and inert
materials – metallic or nonmetallic
– Oxide materials
 Metallic particles in Non-metallic
matrix composite materials
• Metal flakes in a suspension is common. An
example is aluminum paint is actually
aluminum flakes suspended in paint.
• Example: Cold Solder is a metal powder
suspended in thermosetting resin
 Combinations
• Laminated composites can have fiber-
reinforced composite materials included in
the layers:
–Boat Hulls
–Airplane wings and body sections
–Tennis Racquets
–Golf club shafts
 Definition of Homogenous Materials
• Homogenous Material
– material that cannot be mechanically divided into
different materials
– of uniform structure composition throughout

• Heterogeneous Material
– A material that is composed of elements that are
different and can be separated
 Behavior of Composite Materials
• Most many-made engineered materials are both
Homogeneous and isotropic
• Homogeneous – uniform structure and
composition throughout the material
• Isotropic – has material properties that are the
same in all directions in the
– Body the properties are independent of orientation of
the material
– Body with temperature-dependent isotropic materials
properties are not homogeneous when subject to
temperature gradient but are isotropic.
What is an Anisotropic material?
• Anisotropic Material
– Properties of a material are directionally
dependent
– It can be defined as a difference, when measured
along different axes, in a material's physical
property (absorbance, refractive index, density,
etc.)
– Examples: wood – against the grain and with the
grain there are different properties
Supplementary information
 Resources and Websites
• http://www.contourcomp.com/comp101.html
Basic information about composites

• http://www.science.org.au/nova/059/059key.
htm
Composites website