Composite material

Composite Material History and Examples: Composite materials have been used since ancient times, such as straw and mud composites for building construction. Wattle and daub, dating back over 6000 years, is among the oldest known composite materials. Concrete, the most widely used synthetic material, sees an annual production of about 7.5 billion cubic meters. Natural composites from woody plants like trees, palms, and bamboo have been used in construction. Plywood, invented around 3400 BC, offers enhanced properties compared to natural wood. Examples of composite materials include concrete, plywood, composite sandwich structure panels used in NASA testing, reinforced concrete, and fiberreinforced polymers like carbonfiberreinforced polymers and glassreinforced plastic. Types and Applications of Composite Materials: Various types of composite materials include concrete, fiberreinforced polymers, shapememory polymer composites, high strain composites, metal matrix composites (MMC), and ceramic matrix composites (CMC). Applications of composite materials span across buildings, bridges, boat hulls, racing car bodies, and more. Composites are increasingly used in automotive applications, spacecraft, aircraft, and even robotic materials that integrate sensing, actuation, computation, and communication. Advanced composites are inspired by natural sources and animals to reduce carbon footprint and enhance performance. Future Trends and Advancements in Composite Materials: Research is focusing on developing composites with enhanced properties like strength, durability, and lightweight. Exploration of new applications for composites across various industries is ongoing. Manufacturing processes for composite materials are advancing to improve efficiency and quality. Sustainability and environmental impact considerations are driving the production of composite materials. Potential future trends include composites with integrated sensing, actuation, computation, and communication capabilities. Properties, Advantages, and Products of Composites: Composite materials offer advantages like being lightweight yet strong, having high bending stiffness, low density, improved impact resistance, and shape memory behavior. Products utilizing composite materials range from aerospace components, boat and scull hulls, bicycle frames, racing car bodies, to military vehicles and swimming pool panels. Prominent examples of products using composite materials include structures of Boeing 787 and Airbus A350, hockey sticks, launch vehicles, spacecraft components, and orthopedic surgery applications. Manufacturing Processes and Techniques in Composite Fabrication: Fabrication methods for composites involve wetting, mixing, and binding reinforcement with the matrix. Techniques like advanced fiber placement, filament winding, tailored fiber placement, and various molding methods are utilized. Core materials like foams, balsa wood, and honeycombs are used in composite structures. Various fabrication methods include casting, centrifugal casting, filament winding, press molding, transfer molding, pultrusion molding, and more. The manufacturing process for composite materials involves the merging, compacting, and curing of reinforcing and matrix materials in a mold.