Composite materials advantages

Not all of the strength and stiffness advantages of fiber-reinforced composite materials can be transformed directly into structural advantages. Prominent among the reasons for this statement is the fact that the joints for members made of composite materials are typically more bulky than those for metal parts. These relative inefficiencies are being studied because they obviously affect the cost trade-offs for application of composite materials. Other limitations will be discussed subsequently. 

Composite materials are not claimed to be a cure-all for every application or even necessarily competitive with other materials. However, there are many instances in which composite materials are uniquely well-suited because of their peculiar fabrication processes. Thus, this special case of a doubly tapered wing spar is not really special, but is actually a powerful example of the class of applications where composite materials offer significant advantages over conventional materials. 

The Tsai-Hill failure criterion appears to be much more applicable to failure prediction for this E-glass-epoxy composite material than either the maximum stress criterion or the maximum strain failure criterion. Other less obvious advantages of the Tsai-Hill failure criterion are ... 

The basic nature of composite materials was introduced in Chapter 1. An overall classification scheme was presented, and the mechanical behavior aspects of composite materials that differ from those of conventional materials were described in a qualitative fashion. The book was then restricted to laminated fiber-reinforced composite mafeffals. The basic definitions and how such materials are made were then treated. Finally, the current and potential advantages of composite materials were discussed along with some case histories that clearly reveal how composite materials are used in structures. 

Typical S-N (stress versus number of cycles) curves for various metals and composite materials are shown in Figure 6-4 [6-3]. The boron-epoxy composite material curve is much flatter than the aluminum curve as well as being flatter than the curves for any of the metals shown. The susceptibility of composite materials to effects of stress concentrations such as those caused by notches, holes, etc., is much less than for metals. Thus, the initial advantage of higher strength of boron-epoxy... 

Composite materials are ideal for structural applications where high strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios are required. Aircraft and spacecraft are typical weight-sensitive structures in which composite materials are cost-effective. When the full advantages of composite materials are utilized, both aircraft and spacecraft will be designed in a manner much different from the present. 

The creation of active sites as well as the graft polymerization of monomers may be carried out by using radiation procedures or free-radical initiators. This review is not devoted to the consideration of polymerization mechanisms on the surfaces of porous solids. Such information is presented in a number of excellent reviews [66-68]. However, it is necessary to focus attention on those peculiarities of polymerization that result in the formation of chromatographic sorbents. In spite of numerous publications devoted to problems of composite materials produced by means of polymerization techniques, articles concerning chromatographic sorbents are scarce. As mentioned above, there are two principle processes of sorbent preparation by graft polymerization radiation-induced polymerization or polymerization by radical initiators. We will also pay attention to advantages and deficiencies of the methods. 

The superhigh-filled composite materials obtained by PE polymerization on formed perlite particles present in the amount of 80 to 95% by mass can be used to advantage as heat insulation materials (see Table 11). 

Composite materials and copolymers combine the advantages of more than one component material. Copolymers contain more than one type of monomer. 

Addition of rubber particles of 30% to 100% by weight to cement with a grain size of approximately 40 to 60 mesh (0.4 to 0.25 mm) will produce a lightweight cement. The addition of rubber particles also creates a low permeability. The compositions are advantageous for cementing zones subjected to extreme dynamic stresses such as perforation zones and the junctions of branches in a multi-sidetrack well. Recycled, expanded polystyrene lowers the density of a hydraulic cement formulation and is an environmentally friendly solution for downcycling waste materials. 

---