Complete Solution Manual Principles of Composite Material Mechanics

polymers: Thermosetting and thermoplastic polymers, properties of polymers like epoxies, 2 1.1 WHATARE “COMPOSITES? • Composite: Two or more chemically different constituents combined macroscopically to yield a useful material. • Examples of naturally occurring composites permeated with holes filled with liquids Wood: Cellulose fibers bound by lignin matrix Bone: Stiff mineral “fibers” in a soft organic matrix permeated with holes filled with liquids Granite: Granular composite of quartz, feldspar,and mica. • A composite material is made by combining two or more materials– often ones that have very different properties. • The two materials work together to give the composite unique properties. • However, within the composite you can easily tell the different materials apart as they do not dissolve or blend into each other. Composite materials are materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different properties, that when combined, produce a material with characteristics different from the individual components. Composite materials consist of two or more chemically distinct constituent on a macro scale having a dispersed interface separating them and having bulk performance which is considerably different from those of any of its individual constituents. 3 Examples:- Cement, Concrete, Fiber-reinforced polymer, etc. • Some examples of man‐made composites – Concrete: Particulate composite of aggregates (limestone or granite), sand, cement and water – Plywood: Several layers of wood veneer glued together – Fiberglass: Plastic matrix reinforced by glassfibers – Cemets: Ceramic and metal composites – Fibrous composites: Variety of fibers (glass, kevlar, graphite, nylon, etc.) bound together by a polymeric matrix