HOW IT WORKS

The matrix material 1. bonds to the fiber 2. Surrounds and protects the fiber 3. Causes the fiber to maintain orientation desired 4. Keeps the whole piece in shape The fiber carries most of the load in an efficient way The composite material has properties that are a blend of those of the matrix and the fiber.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Advantages 1. Superb strength to weight ratio 2. Allows material to be customized to the load 3. Very strong resistance to chemical attack 4. Some can be good at high temperature (Not all) Disadvantages 1. Price 2. Difficult to manufacture. 3. Difficult to design with (Their anisotropic, or oriented nature makes stress / strain calculations very tricky.

TYPES

Particle. Concrete is the great example. We will not be studying these.

Short Fiber. Fibers are short and randomly oriented. These materials are usually among the cheaper ones to manufacture.

LONG FIBER OR CONTINUOUS FIBER

These are the highest performance. Not so easy to manufacture. Have built in directionality.

PROPERTIES OF COMPOSITES
Several properties of composites can be calculated using the rule of mixtures. Lets begin with the density of the composite. Suppose that Vf is the Volume fraction of the fiber, and that Vm is the volume fraction of the matrix material. Please note that Vf + Vm = 1. Next let rf be the density of the fiber, and rm is the density of the matrix material. The density rc of the composite is apparently rc = rf Vf + rm Vm.

THE CONDITION OF ISOSTRAIN

This applies to long fiber composites. Compressed or pulled along fiber direction. The fibers and matrix material have the same strain. The load is shared. s is the average normal stress. L

Af

sm
sf

Am

s A s f A f s m Am

MODULUS E IN ISOSTRAIN

We assume Hookean Behavior. (Think carefully about this assumption!) We can divide by the constant strain shared by all components. we also multiply by L.

L E A L E f A f L Em Am

We divide by A L, or Volume. The result is

E E f V f Em Vm

THE CONDITION OF ISOSTRESS

This applies to long fiber composites. Compressed or pulled across the fiber direction. The fibers and matrix material have the same stress. The displacement d is shared. e is the average normal strain.

A
Lf Lm em ef

d d f dm

e L L f e f Lm e m

MODULUS IN ISOSTRESS

We divide by the common stress, s. Mulitply by A.

L A L f A Lm A E Ef Em

Divide by the volume. The result is.

1 V f Vm E E f Em

E f Em Vm E f V f Em

EXAMPLE

Suppose we had 62% fiber content by volume. We are dealing with a Carbon Fiber epoxy composite.
r V f r f Vm r m 0.62 (1.78 ) 0.38 1.06 1.50
Eiso strain V f E f Vm Em 0.62 40000 0.38 2000 25560 ksi

Eiso stress

E f Em Vm E f V f Em

400002000 4870 ksi 0.3840000 0.622000

ISOSTRESS AND ISOSTRAIN

Composite Modulus will lie somewhere between the two. Clearly Isostrain is the target condition.