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COMPOSITE MATERIALS. What are composite materials ? Two or more materials bound together. Example from civil engineering: Concrete reinforced with steel bars. Reinforced concrete wall. COMPOSITE MATERIALS. Fiber reinforced composite materials. Reinforcement: Main load carrying member.
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COMPOSITE MATERIALS • What are composite materials? Two or more materials bound together • Example from civil engineering: Concrete reinforced with steel bars Reinforced concrete wall
COMPOSITE MATERIALS • Fiber reinforced composite materials Reinforcement: Main load carrying member Bindingmaterial:transfers load to fibers, keeps the fiber together
A Fiber (reinforcement) may be defined as an elongated stringy man-made material. • A polymer (matrix) is a large molecule consisting of repeating units connected by • covalent chemical bonds. • Once the polymer is combined with the fibers, the polymerization process must take • place in order to obtain a solid structural composite material. • Another critical issue is the fiber-matrix bonding. When the composite material is • loaded, both fibers and matrix must be strongly bonded so that they work as a solid • rigid.
FABRIC ARCHITECTURES Woven Unidirectional
SANDWICH CONSTRUCTION • When loads are applied to any beam, such as wing spar most stress occurs at the • outer surfaces. • Therefore, SANDWICH structure is commonly used in composite construction • to increase the thickness without significant weight penalty Core material: Honeycomb Balsa wood Foam etc. Valid for honeycomb cores
Typical SANDWICH structure Bonding material between layers: Epoxy resin Core material: Honeycomb, wood, foam etc. Upper and lower layers: Composite material composed of suitable fiber + matrix combination Typical fiber materials: E-Glass: Standard fiber glass; workhorse of composites, moderate strength, good bonding with epoxy, cheap Kevlar: Organic fibers, high impact resistance, high strength, difficult to work, poor bonding with epoxy, moderate prize Carbon: 93-95% carbon content, very high strength and fatigue resistance, excellent bonding with epoxy, expensive
Typical resin(matrix) materials: Epoxy: Excellent adhesion to fibers, highest strength, low shrinkage, will bond to dissimilar or already cured materials Vinly ester:Moderate strength, more resistant to degradation from water/moisture Polyester: Low strength , fast curing times, exhibit shrinkage, low weathering resistance, cheapest (non adequate for advanced composites: poor adhesion to carbon and Kevlar)
COMPOSITE MANUFACTURING INFUSION
COMPOSITE MANUFACTURING INFUSION APPLICATIONS
COMPOSITE MANUFACTURING VACUUM BAGGING
COMPOSITE MANUFACTURING VACUUM BAGGING
COMPOSITE MANUFACTURING VACUUM BAGGING •Release agent: facilitates the extraction of the part. •Peel ply: leaves the part surface apt to be bonded or painted. •Prepreg. •Release film: prevents the resin to reach the bleeder fabric but not the volatiles. •Bleeder fabric: takes out the excess of resin in order to get the desired fiber fraction. •Breather fabric: makes the vacuum uniform along the part. •Vacuum bag/seal: seals the cavity to be vacuumed.