Use Of Composite Materials In Engineering

Eds advances in manufacturing technology ii.

Use of composite materials in engineering.

Cite this chapter as. Composite materials emerged in the middle of the 20th century as a promising class of engineering materials providing new prospects for modern technology. The structural component of a composite may consist of fibres made of glass or carbon graphite shorter whiskers made of silicon carbide or aluminum oxide or longer tungsten boron filaments the matrix material may be an epoxy resin or other high temperature plastic aluminum or some other metal or a ceramic such as silicon nitride fibreglass reinforced plastic is the best known. While composite materials have been in existence for centuries the incorporation of composite technology into the civil engineering world is over five decades old.

The application of composites in the defense industry dates back to the early 1940 s. In countries like the united states india and china structures made only from polymeric materials for electric energy transmission have been developed. Composite materials include any products made from a blend of two or more base materials according to the university of delaware s center for composite materials. Generally speaking any material consisting of two or more components with different properties and distinct boundaries between the components can be referred to as a composite material.

The use of composite materials on a structural engineering area is increasing every day because of the advantages of these materials over conventional materials.