PHY 351 : MATERIALS SCIENCE

CHAPTER 9 :COMPOSITE

PREPARED BY :

1) NUR ATIQAH BINTI MOHD ZAMRI

(ITM160704693/2016855804)

2) WAN NOR AIMI AMANDA BINTI WAN MOHAMAD

(ITM160704688/2016840254)

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 20/11/2018

LECTURER ‘S NAME : MADAM NORHAYATY BINTI IBRAHIM

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CHAPTER 9 COMPOSITES

INTRODUCTION
A composite material is a material system, a mixture or combination of two or more micro or
macro constituents that differ in form and composition and do not form a solution.

Properties of composite materials can be better-quality to its individual components.

Examples:

1. Fiber reinforced plastics

Figure 1: Commonly used in the aerospace, automotive, marine, and construction industries.

2. Concrete.

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 3. Asphalt

Figure 2 :Example for parking lots and surface of road.

4. Wood

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EXAMPLE 1.
a. Give 2 examples of natural composite.

1. Wood.
2. Bone.

b. Give special properties of composite material.

1. Electrical insulating properties

2. Thermal insulating properties
3. High strength-to-weight ratio
4. High fatigue resistance
5. High impact strength
6. Special properties of composite materials.

c. Give 2 applications of composite.

1. In automobile industries.
Ex: Steel & Aluminium body.

2. Marine application like shafts,hulls,spars(for racing boat).

3. Safety equipment
Ex:Air bags of cars.

d. Distinguish between cement and concrete.

Cement
 Used in concrete and mortar
 Was create before concrete
 Can only be mixed in small batches
 Binding agent or glue
Concrete
 Final product
 Was developed after cement
 Can be mixed in large quantity
 Actual construction material

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FIBERS FOR REINFORCED PLASTIC COMPOSITE MATERIALS.
Fiber reinforced plastic is a composite materials consisting of a mixture of a matrix of a
plastic material such as a polyester or epoxy strengthened by fibers of high strength such as:

1. Glass.

2. Carbon.

3. Arimid.

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The fibers provide the high strength and stiffness and the plastic matrix bonds the fibers
together and supports them.

GLASS FIBER FOR REINFORCING PLASTIC RESINS.

Glass fiber are used to reinforce plastic matrices to form structural composites and molding
compounds.

Glass fiber reinforced plastic composite materials have high strength-weight ratio, good
dimensional stability, good temperature and corrosion resistance and low cost.

The most important types of glass used to produce glass fiber for composites are:

1. ‘S’ Glass = ‘S’ (high-strength) glasses used for military and aerospace application.

2. ‘E’ Glass = ‘E’ (electrical glasses) cheaper than S glass.

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CARBON FIBERS FOR REINFORCED PLASTICS
Carbon fiber such as epoxy are characterized by having a combination of light weight, very
high strength and high stiffness (modulus of elasticity).

Produced from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and pitch.

Steps:

1. Stabilization:
PAN fibers are stretched and oxidized in air at about 2000C.

2. Carbonization:
Stabilized carbon fibers are heated in inert atmosphere at 1000-15000C which results
in elimination of O,H and N resulting in increase of strength.

3. Graphitization:
Carried out at 18000C and increases modulus of elasticity at the expense of strength

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ARAMID FIBERS FOR REINFORCING PLASTIC RESINS

Aramid fiber is the generic name for aromatic polyamide fibers.

Trade name is Kevlar. There are two commercial type:

1. Kevlar 29:
1) Low density, high strength, and used for ropes and cables.

2) Used in :

 Manufacturing bullet-proof vest

 Composite armour reinforcement
 Helmet
 Ropes

Figure 3: Kevlar 29.

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 2. Kevlar 49:
1) Low density, high strength and high modulus.

2) Used in :

 Aerospace
 Automotive
 Marine application

Figure 4 : Kevlar 49.

 Hydrogen bonds bond fiber together.

 Used where resistance to fatigue, high strength and light weight is important.

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COMPARISON OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES.

Carbon fibers provide best combination of properties.

Due to favorable properties, carbon and aramid fiber reinforced composites have replaced
steel and aluminum in aerospace applications.

Figure 5:Specific tensile strength (tensil strength to density) and speific tensile modulus
(tensile modulus to density) for various types of reinforcing fibers.

MATRIX MATERIALS FOR FIBER REINFORCEDPLASTIC COMPOSITE

MATERIALS

Two of the most important matrix plastic resins for fiber-reinforced plastics are:

1. Unsaturated polyester

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 2. Epoxy resins

The polyester resin are lower in cost but are usually not as strong as the epoxy resin.

Fiberglass-reinforced POLYESTER resins:

1. Higher the wt% of glass, stronger the reinforced plastic is.

2. Nonparallel alignment of glass fibers reduces strength.

Carbon fiber reinforced EPOXY resins:

1. Carbon fiber contributes to rigidity and strength while epoxy matrix contributes to
impact strength.
2. Polyimides, polyphenylene sulfides are also used.
3. Exceptional fatigue properties.
4. Carbon fiber epoxy material is laminated to meet strength requirements.

PROPERTIES OF FIBER REINFORCED PLASTICS.

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EXAMPLE 2
a. Cite the general difference in strengthening mechanism between large-particle and
dispersion-strengthened particle-reinforced composites.

Strengthening mechanism Dispersion-strengthened

between large-particle particle-reinforced
composites
Interactions are treated Not on the molecular level On the molecular level

b. A undirectional Kevlar 49 fiber-epoxy composite contains 60% by volume of Kevlar 49

fibers and 40 % epoxy resin. The density of the Kevlar 49 fibers is 1.48Mg/m3 and that of the
epoxy resin is 1.2 Mg/m3.

I. What are the weight percentages of Kevlar 49 and epoxy resin in the composite
material? (Answer: 64.9%, 35.1%)
II. What is the average density of the composite?
(Answer: 1.37 Mg/m3)

Calculation:

𝑚
(ii) 𝑃𝐶 = 𝑉
1.368 𝑚𝑔
=
1 𝑚3
𝑚𝑔
=1.368 3
𝑚

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(i) What is the average density of the composite?

(Answer: 1.37 Mg/m3)

𝑃𝑓 𝑉𝑓 + 𝑃𝑒 𝑉𝑒
𝑃𝐶 =
𝑉𝑓 + 𝑉𝑒

Applying, 1 𝑚3 𝑡𝑜 𝑉𝑓 + 𝑉𝑒
𝑚𝑔 𝑚𝑔
𝑚𝑔 1.48 𝑚3 (𝑉𝑓 ) + 𝑚3 (𝑉𝑒 )
1.368 3 =
𝑚 1 𝑚3
𝑚𝑔 𝑚𝑔
1.368 mg= 1.48 𝑚3 (𝑉𝑓 ) + 1.2 𝑚3 (𝑉𝑒 )

𝐴𝑛𝑑 , 𝑉𝑓 = 1 − 𝑉𝑒

𝑚𝑔 𝑚𝑔
1.368𝑚𝑔 = 1.48 (1 − 𝑉𝑒 ) + (1.2 ) (𝑉𝑒 )
𝑚3 𝑚3
𝑚𝑔
Subtract, 1.48 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑠:
𝑚3
−0.112 = −0.28 (𝑉𝑒 )
𝑉𝑒 = 0.4

𝑉𝑓 = , 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑡𝑒

𝑉𝑒 = 0.4

𝑚𝑔 𝑚𝑔
1.368 mg= 1.48 𝑚3 (𝑉𝑓 ) + 1.2 𝑚3 (𝑉𝑒 )

1.368 𝑚𝑔 = (1.48)𝑉𝑓 + (1.2)(0.4)

𝑉𝑓 = 0.6
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒 = 𝑚𝑒 = 𝑃𝑒 𝑉𝑒
𝑚𝑔
𝑃𝑒 𝑉𝑒 = (1.2 3 ) (0.4𝑚3 )
𝑚
= 0.48 𝑚𝑔

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𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑓 = 𝑚𝑓 = 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 − 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒
= 1.368 𝑚𝑔 − 0.48 𝑚𝑔
=0.888 mg

0.48 𝑚𝑔
Wt % e =1.368 𝑚𝑔 𝑥 100%
=35.1 %

0.888 𝑚𝑔
Wt % f =1.368 𝑚𝑔 𝑥 100%
=64.9 %

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EQUATION FOR ELASTIC MODULUS OF LAMELLAR COMPOSITE

Isostrain condition:
Stress on composite causes uniform strain on all composite layers.

𝑃𝑐 = 𝑃𝑓 + 𝑃𝑚
𝑃𝐶 = Load on composite
𝑃𝑓 = Load on fibers
𝑃𝑚 = load on matrix

Known;
𝑃
σ=𝐴

Therefore;
𝜎𝑐 𝐴𝑐 = 𝜎𝑓 𝐴𝑓 + 𝜎𝑚 𝐴𝑚

Since length of layers are equal,

𝜎𝑐 𝑉𝑐 = 𝜎𝑓 𝑉𝑓 + 𝜎𝑚 𝑉𝑚

𝑉𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑉𝑚 = volume fractions

𝑉𝐶 = 1

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Therefore;

𝜎𝑐 = 𝜎𝑓 𝑉𝑓 + 𝜎𝑚 𝑉𝑚

Since strains;
𝜀𝑐 = 𝜀𝑓 = 𝜀𝑚

Therefore;

𝜎𝑐 𝜎𝑓 𝑉𝑓 𝜎𝑚 𝑉𝑚
= +
𝜀𝑐 𝜀𝑓 𝜀𝑚

𝐸𝑐 = 𝐸𝑓 𝑉𝑓 + 𝐸𝑚 𝑉𝑚

(Rule of mixture of binary composites)

LOADS ON FIBERAND MATRIX REGIONS.

Since ,
𝜎 = 𝐸𝜀 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝜀𝑓 = 𝜀𝑚

𝑃𝑐 = 𝑃𝑓 + 𝑃𝑚

𝑃𝑓 𝜎𝑓 𝐴𝑓 𝐸𝑓 𝜀𝑓 𝐴𝑓 𝐸𝑓 𝐴𝑓 𝐸𝑓 𝑉𝑓
= = = =
𝑃𝑚 𝜎𝑚 𝐴𝑚 𝐸𝑚 𝜀𝑚 𝐴𝑚 𝐸𝑚 𝐴𝑚 𝐸𝑚 𝑉𝑚

From above two equations, load on each of fiber and matrix regions can be
determined if values of 𝐸𝑓 , 𝐸𝑚 , 𝑉𝑓 , 𝑉𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑃𝑐 are known.

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QUESTION 3
.

a. The composite consists of a continuous glass-fober reinforced-epoxy resin

produced by using 60% by volume of E-glass fibers having a modulus of elasticity of
𝐸𝑓 = 7.24 x 104 MPa and a tensile strength of 2.4 GPa and a harded eposy resin with
a modulus of 𝐸𝑚 = 3.1 x 103 MPa and tensile strength of 0.06 GPa. Calculate the
composite

I. A modulus of elasticity
(Answer: 44.64 GPa)
(1 MPa= 1 x 10−3 )

7.24 x104 MPa = 72.4 GPa

3.1 x 103 MPa = 3.10 GPa

II. The tensile strength

(Answer: 1.46 GPa)

III. The fraction of the load carried by the fiber for the following composite
material stresses under isostrain conditions.
(Answer: 0.97)

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ISOSTRESS CONDITION

Stress on the composite structure produces an equal stress condition on all the layers.

𝜎𝐶 = 𝜎𝑓 + 𝜎𝑚

𝜀𝐶 = 𝜀𝑓 + 𝜀𝑚

Assuming no change in area and assuming unit length of the composite

𝜀𝐶 = 𝜀𝑓 𝑉𝑓 + 𝜀𝑚 𝑉𝑚

But;

𝜎 𝜎 𝜎
𝜀𝑐 = , 𝜀𝑓 = , 𝜀𝑚 =
𝐸𝑐 𝐸𝑓 𝐸𝑚

Therefore;

𝜎 𝜎𝑉𝑓 𝜎𝑉𝑚
= +
𝐸𝑐 𝐸𝑓 𝐸𝑚

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ELASTIC MODULUS FOR ISOSTRESS CONDITION.

We know that :

𝜎 𝜎𝑉𝑓 𝜎𝑉𝑚
= +
𝐸𝑐 𝐸𝑓 𝐸𝑚

Higher modulus values are obtained with isostrain loading for equal volume of fibers.

Dividing by σ;

1 𝑉𝑓 𝑉𝑚
= +
𝐸𝐶 𝐸𝑓 𝐸𝑚

1 𝑉𝑓 𝐸𝑚 𝑉𝑚 𝐸𝑓
= +
𝐸𝑐 𝐸𝑓 𝐸𝑚 𝐸𝑚 𝐸𝑓

𝐸𝑓 𝐸𝑚
𝐸𝑐 =
𝑉𝑓 𝐸𝑚 + 𝑉𝑚 𝐸𝑓

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EXAMPLE 4

1. Calculate the modulus of elasticity for a composite material consisting of 60% by

volume of continuous E-glass fiber and 40% epoxy resin for the matrix when stressed
under isostress conditions (i.e. the material is stresses perpendicular to the continuous
fiber). The modulus of elasticity of the E glass is 72.4 GPa and that of the epoxy resin
is 3.1 GPa.
(Answer : 7.3 GPa)

𝐸𝑓 𝐸𝑚
𝐸𝑐 =
𝑉𝑓 𝐸𝑚 + 𝑉𝑚 𝐸𝑓

(72.4 𝐺𝑝𝑎)(3.1 𝐺𝑝𝑎)

=
(0.6)(3.1𝐺𝑝𝑎) + (0.4)(72.4𝐺𝑃𝐴)

= 7.28 𝐺𝑝𝑎
= 7.3 𝐺𝑝𝑎

Wood is naturally occurring composite with polymeric material lignin and other organic
compounds.

Nonhomogenous and highly anisotropic.

Consists of layers:

(a) Outer bark – provides protection

(b) Inner bark – moist and soft, carries food

(c) Cambium layer – forms wood and bark cells

(d) Sapwood – carries wood and sap.

(e) Heartwood – dead, dark and provides strength

(f) Pith – Soft tissue at the center

(g) Wood rays

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PROPERTIES OF WOOD.

Moisture content: Water occurs in wood as absorbed in fiber walls or in cell fiber lumen.

150% for softwood and sapwood.

𝑤𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒
𝑊𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 (𝑤𝑡%) = x 100 %
𝑤𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒

Mechanical strength: Compressive strength parallel to the grain is 10 times higher than that
perpendicular to the grain.

Wood in green condition is weaker than kiln-dried wood.

Shrinkage: Green wood shrinks if dried.

Shrinkage is more in transverse direction.

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EXAMPLE 5.

A piece of wood containing moisture weighs 165.3g and after oven drying to a constant
weight, weighs 147.5g. What is its percent moisture content?

(Answer: 12.1%)
𝑤𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒
𝑊𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 (𝑤𝑡%) = x 100 %
𝑤𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒

(𝑤𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒−𝑤𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒)

𝑊𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 (𝑤𝑡%) = x 100 %
𝑤𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒

165.3 g −147.5g
= 𝑥 100 %
147.5g

=12.1 %

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REFERENCES.

(A) BOOK
1. A.G. Guy (1972) Introduction to Material Science, McGraw Hill.
2. J.F. Shackelford (2000). Introduction to Material Science for Engineers, (5th Edition),
Prentice Hall.
3. W.F. Smith (1996). Principle to Material Science and Engineering, (3rd Edition),
McGraw Hill.
4. W.D. Callister Jr. (1997) Material Science and Engineering: An Introduction, (4th
Edition) John Wiley.

(B) INTERNET.
1. http://www.exelcomposites.com/fi-fi/english/composites/composites.aspx
2. https://www.quora.com/What-is-aramid-What-is-Kevlar-Whats-the-difference-
between-them
3. http://www.cartagena99.com/recursos/alumnos/apuntes/chapt11.pdf
4. http://in.bgu.ac.il/engn/mater/Documents/LaboratoryBriefings/4/Materials%20Scienc
e%20and%20Engineering%20introduction%20Chapter%2015%20Composites%207t
h%20ed.pdf

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