Topic > Composite Materials Essay - 1439

Composite materials are also called composition materials or abbreviated to composites. They can be selected to provide unusual combinations of weight, stiffness, high temperature performance, toughness, corrosion resistance, conductivity or hardness. They are materials made up of two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties. Combined together they give rise to a material with characteristics different from the individual components. The individual components will remain distinct and separate with the final structure. Composite materials are made up of some individual materials called constituent materials. There are two categories of these constituent materials. The first is the matrix and the second is the reinforcement. The matrix material must support the reinforcing materials while maintaining their relative positions. In addition to this, the reinforcing materials impart their special physical properties to improve the properties of the matrix materials. A synergism produces material properties that are not available from the individual constituent materials. On the other hand, matrix and reinforcement materials allow the manufacturer of the product or structure to choose an optional combination. There are some types of composite material, such as polymer matrix composite, metal matrix composite, fiber reinforced composite, ceramic matrix composite, glass reinforced composite and others. There are many commercially produced composites that use polymer matrix material. There are many different polymers available depending on the raw materials. There are a few broad categories, each with numerous variations. The most commonly used ones are known as vinyl, polyester, polypropylene, epoxy, polyimide and others. The reinforcement m... at the center of the paper... the fibers are coated with nickel or titanium boride. There are three processing methods that have been used to develop a metal matrix composite, which are high-pressure diffusion bonding, casting, and powder metallurgy techniques. Furthermore, diffusion and melting methods have been used for continuous fiber-reinforced metal matrix composites. The discontinuously reinforced metal matrix composite was produced using powder metallurgy and pressure-assisted casting processes. Some manufacturers use commercial metal alloys for the matrix material. Example is aluminum, titanium and others. They are reinforced with ceramic fibres, both continuous and discontinuous; particles or whiskers. The advantage of metal matrix composite is that they improve strength, stiffness and damping. But the costs of using metal matrix composite are relatively high.