MME101 Materials Engineering Fundamentals

Lecture 35
A. K. M. Bazlur Rashid Part E: Processing and Applications
Professor, Dept. of Materials and Metallurgical Eng.
Bangladesh Univ. of Eng. and Tech., Dhaka-1000 7 – Composite Materials

Lecture Outcome (LO)

At the end of this lecture, students should be able to

1. define and discuss the importance of composite materials,
2. classify composite materials and describe different categories of composites
and their applications,
3. estimate composite stiffness and strength.

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 1. Introduction
❑ Composites materials are artificially prepared solids containing
two or more physically distinct phases on a scale larger than the atomic.

❑ The term “composite” is usually reserved for those materials in which

• the phases are microscopically or macroscopically distinct, and
• properties such as the elastic modulus are significantly altered in comparison with
those of a homogeneous material

THE MATRIX INTERFACE

(aluminium)
(allows transfer of
stress from the matrix to
the dispersed phase)

REINFORCEMENT
(tungsten fibre)
tungsten fibre reinforced
aluminium composite 3/40

The Matrix

❑ Continuous phase, or the bulk material, the property of which is generally reinforced
❑ Made from metals (MMC), polymers (PMC) or ceramics (CMC)
❑ Some ductility of the matrix and high bonding strength between matrix and
reinforcements are desirable
❑ Functions of matrix
• Binds the reinforcements together
• Mechanically supports the reinforcements
• Transfers the applied load to the reinforcements
• Protects the reinforcements from surface damage due to abrasion or chemical attacks

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 The Reinforcing Material
❑ The dispersed phase in the matrix
❑ Made from metals, polymers or ceramics
❑ Can be in the form of particles, fibres or various other geometries
❑ Functions of reinforcing material: to enhance matrix properties
• In MMC: Increase y, TS, creep resistance
• In CMC: Increase KC
The Interface
• In PMC: Increase E, y, TS, creep resistance
❑ Protects the reinforcing materials
Particle reinforcement
Silver, Cobalt; Silica, Carbon black, Rocks, Alumina, Talc, SiC, Si3N4, ❑ Binds the reinforcing materials
Glass beads; C nanoparticles/nanotubes, Graphene with the matrix
Fibre reinforcement
Boron, Steel, Tungsten, Chromium; Carbon, Alumina, SiC, Glass, Kevlar 5/40

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 Some examples of composite materials:
(a) plywood is a laminar composite of
layers of wood veneer

(b) fiberglass is a fiber-reinforced

composite containing stiff, strong
glass fibers in a softer polymer
matrix (175)

(c) concrete is a particulate composite

containing coarse sand or gravel in a
cement matrix (reduced to 50%).

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Natural Composites:
wood and bamboo, shells, bones, muscles
Natural fibres:
silk, wool, cotton, jute

Abalone shell: Wood:

CaCO3 + 3% organic material cellulose-filaments in a matrix of lignin
>3000 times stronger than calcite and hemicellulose
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 ❑ The properties of composite materials depend upon their structure
(as they do in homogeneous materials).

❑ Composites differ from homogeneous materials in that, considerable

control can be exerted over the larger scale structure, and hence
over the desired properties.

❑ The properties of a composite material depend upon

1. the properties of the homogeneous matrix and reinforcing materials,
2. the shape, volume fraction, and orientation of the reinforcing materials,
3. the interface among the constituents, and
4. the adhesion of the reinforcing materials with the matrix.

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2. Reasons for Making Composites

❑ The combination of phases produces properties that are different from

those of its constituents
❑ Offset the poor qualities of one phase with the good qualities of another
❑ The primary needs for making composites:
☐ light weight ☐ higher operating temperatures
☐ greater strength and stiffness ☐ higher impact and wear resistance
☐ better toughness ☐ higher reliability and affordability
☐ better corrosion resistance

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 “The best of both worlds”

Metals
Pros
 electrically, thermally conductive Cons
 good strength and ductility  dense
 high toughness  low creep resistance
 magnetic  low/moderate corrosion resistance
Pros Pros
 electrically, thermally insulating Composites  very ductile
 wear and corrosion resistant  easy to form
 high strength and stiffness  corrosion resistant
 creep resistant  high strength-to-weight ratio
 low density
Ceramics Polymers
Cons Cons
 difficult to form/machine  low stiffness & strength
 very low toughness  poor high temperature properties

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3. Classification of Composites

❑ Composites are classified based on either (1) the matrix material

or (2) the reinforcing agents.

Composites
(based on matrix material)

Metal matrix Ceramic matrix Polymer matrix

(MMC) (CMC) (PMC)

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 Composites
(based on reinforcing material)

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Based on Matrix Phase

Metal matrix Polymer matrix

composites Ceramic matrix composites
composites

Matrix: Moderately strong, stiff, wear

resistant and fatigue resistant Matrix: Weaker and have low
Matrix: Hard and brittle melting point
Aim: To significantly improve above
properties Aim: To make tougher and Aim: To make stronger and
more reliable more temperature resistant
Example: SiC reinforced Al,
Precipitation hardened Al, etc. Example: Ag reinforced Al2O3, Example: GFRP, CFRP
ZrO2 toughened Al2O3 (ZTA),
steel reinforced concrete
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 Based on Dispersed Phase

Fibrous Particulate Structural

composites composites composites

 continuous vs. discontinuous  Large particle vs.  lamellar vs. sandwich structure
 aligned vs. randomly oriented dispersion strengthened vs. honeycomb structure

 GFRP  WC particle  Polymer core sandwiched by Al faces

reinforced Co
 CFRP
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4. Fibre-reinforced composites

❑ Technologically, the most important composites are those in which the

dispersed phase is in the form of a fibre.

❑ Design goals of fibre-reinforced composites often include higher strength

and/or stiffness on a weight basis.

❑ These characteristics are expressed in terms of specific strength (tensile

strength / specific gravity) and specific modulus (modulus of elasticity /
specific gravity) parameters.

❑ Fibre-reinforced composites with exceptionally high specific strengths and

moduli have been produced that use low-density fibre and matrix materials.

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 continuous fibre reinforced high pressure cylinder

fractured surface of a silver-copper alloy

reinforced with carbon fibers. (3000).

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Fibre materials for reinforcement

Whiskers
⚫ thin single crystals - large length to diameter ratio
⚫ high crystal perfection – extremely strong, strongest known
⚫ very expensive
⚫ example: graphite, SiN, SiC

Fibers
⚫ polycrystalline or amorphous
⚫ generally, polymers or ceramics
⚫ example: Al2O3 , Aramid, E-glass, Boron

Wires
⚫ metal – steel, Mo, W

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 Controlling properties of fibre-reinforced composites

1. Aspect Ratio (length/diameter ratio) 4. Properties of Fibre and Matrix

• Fibres can be short, long, or continuous • fibre – stiff, strong, light
• Properties of composite improved when the aspect ratio • matrix – tough, ductile
is large
5. Bonding and Failure
2. Volume Fraction of Fibre
• Good bonding between fibre and matrix is
• A greater volume fraction of fibre increases strength essential to transmit load from matrix to the fibre
and stiffness of composite
• If bonding is poor, fibre pull out occurs
• For over 80 vol % fibre, the matrix can no longer
surrounds the fibres – undesirable ! • Special coating on fibre may be used to improve
bonding
3. Orientation of Fibre
• Unidirectionally aligned fibre – optimum properties along fibre direction;
poor properties across fibre direction (anisotropic properties)
• Randomly oriented fibre – isotropic properties; properties not optimum
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Critical fibre length

❑ The mechanical characteristics of a fibre-reinforced composite depend not only
on the properties of the fibre, but also on the degree to which an applied load
is transmitted to the fibres by the matrix phase.
❑ Some critical fibre length is necessary for effective strengthening and stiffening
of the composite material.

fibre strength in tension fibre diameter

𝜎𝑓 𝑑
𝑙𝑐 = 𝜏𝑐

shear strength of
fibre-matrix interface

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 stress–position profiles when the fibre length l (a) is equal
to the critical length lc, (b) is greater than the critical length,
and (c) is less than the critical length for a fibre-reinforced
composite that is subjected to a tensile stress equal
to the fibre tensile strength *f .

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Effect of fiber orientation on the tensile

strength of E-glass fiber-reinforced epoxy
composites.

Increasing the length of chopped E-glass fibers

in an epoxy matrix increases the strength of the
composite. In this example, the volume fraction
of glass fibers is about 0.5.

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 Mechanics of composites

❑ Dependance of mechanical properties of composite materials on structure is complex.

❑ However, for some structures the prediction of properties is relatively simple.

stress parallel to fibers stress perpendicular to fibers

(iso-strain condition) (iso-stress condition)

(a) (b) (c)

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Iso-strain Condition
❑ The total force acting on the composite
is the sum of the forces carried by each constituent:

𝐹𝑐 = 𝐹𝑚 + 𝐹𝑓
𝜎𝑐 𝐴𝑐 = 𝜎𝑚 𝐴𝑚 + 𝜎𝑓 𝐴𝑓 (∵ F = σ A)

𝐴𝑚 𝐴𝑓 (b)
𝜎𝑐 = 𝜎𝑚 + 𝜎𝑓
𝐴𝑐 𝐴𝑐

❑ If the fibers have a uniform cross-section,

the area fraction equals the volume fraction: 𝑉𝑐 = 𝑉𝑚 + 𝑉𝑓
𝜎𝑐 = 𝜎𝑚 𝑉𝑚 + 𝜎𝑓 𝑉𝑓
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 𝜎𝑐 = 𝜎𝑚 𝑉𝑚 + 𝜎𝑓 𝑉𝑓

❑ Using Hooke’s law, σ = Eε

𝐸𝑐 𝜀𝑐 = 𝐸𝑚 𝜀𝑚 𝑉𝑚 + 𝐸𝑓 𝜀𝑓 𝑉𝑓

❑ If the fibers are rigidly bonded to the matrix, both the fibers and the
matrix must stretch equal amounts (iso-strain conditions):
(b)
𝜀𝑐 = 𝜀𝑚 = 𝜀𝑓
Upper Bound Value of Ec

𝐸𝑐|| = 𝐸𝑚 𝑉𝑚 + 𝐸𝑓 𝑉𝑓 Rule of Mixture

“property of composite is weighted
𝜌𝑐|| = 𝜌𝑚 𝑉𝑚 + 𝜌𝑓 𝑉𝑓 sum of its constituent materials”

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Iso-stress Condition
stress is applied perpendicular to the axis of the fiber

❑ The stresses in each component are equal

❑ But the strains are no longer equal
❑ Instead, the weighted sum of the strains in each component
equals the total strain in the composite
(c)
𝜀𝑐 = 𝜀𝑚 𝑉𝑚 + 𝜀𝑓 𝑉𝑓
𝜎𝑐 𝜎𝑚 𝜎𝑓
= 𝑉 + 𝑉 Lower Bound Value of Ec
𝐸𝑐 𝐸𝑚 𝑚 𝐸𝑓 𝑓

1 𝑉𝑚 𝑉𝑓
= + (∵ 𝜎𝑐 = 𝜎𝑚 = 𝜎𝑓 )
𝐸𝑐⊥ 𝐸𝑚 𝐸𝑓
𝐸𝑚 𝐸𝑓
𝐸𝐶⊥ =
𝐸𝑓 𝑉𝑚 + 𝐸𝑚 𝑉𝑓 26/40

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 Problem 1
SiC coated boron (a,k,a, Borsic) fibre reinforced aluminum containing 40 vol% fibres is an
important high-temperature, lightweight composite material. The fibres are aligned parallel to
the loading direction. Estimate the density, modulus of elasticity, and tensile strength parallel to
the fibre axis. Also estimate the modulus of elasticity perpendicular to the fibres.

Material Density Young’s Modulus Tensile Strength

(g/cc) (psi) (psi)
Fibre 2.36 55,000,000 400,000
Aluminium 2.70 10,000,000 5,000

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Answer:
From the rule of mixtures:
𝜌𝑐 = (2.36 g/cc) (0.40) + (2.70 g/cc) (0.60) = 2.56 g/cc
𝐸𝑐|| = (55106 psi) (0.40) + (10106 psi) (0.60) = 28106 psi

𝑇𝑆𝑐 = (400103 psi) (0.40) + (5103 psi) (0.60) = 163103 psi

Perpendicular to the fibers:

1 0.6 0.4
= + = 0.0710−6 psi−1
𝐸𝑐⊥ 55106 psi 10106 psi
𝐸𝑐⊥ = 14.9106 psi
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 Problem 2
A continuous and aligned glass fibre-reinforced composite consists of 40 vol.% glass fibres
having a modulus elasticity of 69 GPa and 60 vol.% polyester resin that, when hardened,
displays a modulus of 3.4 GPa.
(a) Compute the modulus of elasticity of this composite in the longitudinal direction.
(b) If the cross-sectional area is 250 mm2 and a stress of 50 MPa is applied in the
longitudinal direction, compute the magnitude of the load carried by each of the fibre and
matrix phases.
(c) Determine the strain that is sustained by each phase when the stress in part b is applied.

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Answer: Given data:

Ef = 69 GPa Vf = 0.40
Em = 3.4 Gpa Vm = 0.60
Modulus of elasticity in the longitudinal direction
C = 50 MPa AC = 250 mm2
𝐸∥ = 𝐸𝑓 𝑉𝑓 + 𝐸𝑚 𝑉𝑚
Again, forces on the composite
= 69 𝐺𝑃𝑎 × 0.4 + 3.4 𝐺𝑃𝑎 × 0.6
𝐹𝐶 = 𝜎𝐶 𝐴𝐶
= 30 𝐺𝑃𝑎 (𝑎)
= 50 𝑀𝑃𝑎 × 250 𝑚𝑚2

Manipulating Hooks’ law for longitudinal directions, = 12500 𝑁

one may find the ratio of forces on the fibres and the matrix ∴ 𝐹𝐶 = 𝐹𝑓 + 𝐹𝑚 = 12500 𝑁 (2)
𝐹𝑓 𝐸𝑓 𝑉𝑓 69 𝐺𝑃𝑎 × 0.4
= =
𝐹𝑚 𝐸𝑚 𝑉𝑚 3.4 𝐺𝑃𝑎 × 0.6
Using these two equations, one may find
𝐹𝑓 = 13.5 𝐹𝑚 (1) 𝐹𝑓 = 11640 𝑁
𝐹𝑚 = 860 𝑁 (𝑏) 30/40

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 For a unit length of composite
𝐴𝑚 = 𝑉𝑚 𝐴𝐶 = 0.6 × 250 𝑚𝑚2 = 150 𝑚𝑚2
𝐴𝑓 = 250 − 150 = 100 𝑚𝑚2

Then the stresses on the fibre and the matrix are Then individual strain in each phase
𝐹𝑓 11640 𝑁 𝜎𝑓 116.40 𝑀𝑃𝑎
𝜎𝑓 = = = 116.40 𝑀𝑃𝑎 𝜀𝑓 = = = 1.69 × 10−3
𝐴𝑓 100 𝑚𝑚2 𝐸𝑓 69 𝐺𝑃𝑎

𝐹𝑚 860 𝑁 𝜎𝑚 5.73 𝑀𝑃𝑎

𝜎𝑚 = = = 5.73 𝑀𝑃𝑎 𝜀𝑚 = = = 1.69 × 10−3
𝐴𝑚 150 𝑚𝑚2 𝐸𝑚 3.4 𝐺𝑃𝑎
(c)
Thus, as they should be, strains in both fibre
and matrix phases are identical.

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5. Particle-reinforced Composites
❑ It is often convenient to stiffen or harden a material by the incorporation of
particulate inclusions.

❑ Particles used can be ranging in size from nanoscale to microscopic (dispersion-

strengthened composites) to macroscopic (large-particle composites)

• Dispersion strengthening
❖ Similar to precipitation hardening
❖ Strengthening occurs in atomic/molecular level
by making it harder for dislocation to move

• Large-particle strengthening
❖ Harder and stiffer reinforcing particles tend to restrain
movement of the matrix phase in the vicinity of each particle
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 SiC reinforced Al casting

(compliant)
(ductile)
(stiffer)
(brittle, hard)

Large-particle composites Dispersion-strengthened composites

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❑ The shape of the particles is important. It may be of any shape

– ranging from irregular to spherical, plate-like to needle-like.
• In isotropic systems, stiff platelet (or flake) inclusions are the most effective in creating
a stiff composite, followed by fibers; the least effective geometry for stiff inclusions is
the spherical particle

❑ The distribution of particles in the composite matrix is random, and therefore

strength and other properties of the composite material are usually isotropic

❑ Particulate strengthening is much less efficient than fibre-reinforcing.

❑ Properties follows the rule of mixture:

𝐸𝑐(𝑢) = 𝐸𝑚 𝑉𝑚 + 𝐸𝑓 𝑉𝑓 (upper bound)

1 𝑉𝑚 𝑉𝑓
= + (lower bound)
𝐸𝑐(𝑙) 𝐸𝑚 𝐸𝑓
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 The effect of clay on the properties of polyethylene
Modulus of elasticity versus volume percent tungsten
for a composite of tungsten particles dispersed within a
copper matrix

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Problem 3
A cemented carbide cutting tool used for machining contains 75 wt% WC, 15 wt% TiC,
5 wt% TaC, and 5 wt% Co. Estimate the density of the composite.

Answer
First, we must convert the weight percentages to volume fractions.
The densities of the components of the composite are:

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 From the rule of mixtures, the density of the composite is

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6. Structural Composites

❑ A structural composite is a multi-layered and normally low-density composite used

in applications requiring structural integrity, ordinarily high tensile, compressive, and
torsional strengths and stiffnesses.

❑ The properties of these composites depend not only on the properties of the
constituent materials, but also on the geometrical design of the structural elements.

❑ Laminar composites and sandwich panels are two of the most common structural
composites.

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 (a) Laminar composite structure (2D sheets or panels)
(b) Sandwich structure (consists of two strong and stiff outer sheets, faces, or skins
that are separated by and adhesively bonded to a thicker light-weight core)
(c) Honeycomb sandwich structure (thin foils shaped into interlocking cells (hexagonal
or other configurations) with axes oriented perpendicular to the face planes)

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MME101 Materials Engineering Fundamentals

Lecture 36
Part E: Processing and Applications
8 – Non-destructive inspection

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