Fibrous composite materials definition

Textile-reinforced composite materials (TRCMs) are part of the general class of engineering materials called composite materials. We can define composite materials as having two or more constituents at the macroscopic scale, such that the distribution and geometry of the constituents have been chosen to optimise one or more properties of the material. This is clearly an appropriate definition for textile-reinforced composites for which there is one phase, called the matrix, reinforced by a fibrous reinforcement in the form of a textile. 

Also, fibers are controversial. In one currently used handbook, natural, inorganic fibers such as wollastonite or asbestos have been included among fillers whereas other fibers were included in a separate group with only three materials glass, aramid, and graphite. But, mixtures of fibrous and particulate materials are found in many composites today and various natural materials having fibrous structures are considered fillers in technical papers. Again our definition includes these examples. 

Wood-plastic composite (WPC) deck boards are extruded or molded products of a specified shape and, by definition, represent plastic filled with cellulose fiber and other ingredients. In this context wood is a proxy for fibrous materials of plant origin. These materials will be considered in the next chapter. This chapter deals with a plastic component of composite deck boards, with an understanding that the plastic is thermoplastic. 

Reinforced plastics (RPs) or composites hold a special place in the design and manufacturing industry because they are quite simply unique materials. During the 1940s, reinforced plastics (or low-pressure laminates, as they were then commonly known) were easy to identify. The basic definition then, as now, is simply that of a plastic reinforced with either a fibrous or nonfibrous material. TSs such as polyester and epoxies and glass fiber dominated the field. 

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