Composites
The need for materials with properties not found in conventional materials, combined with advances in technology, have resulted in combining two or more materials to form composite materials.
Qualities of Composites That Can Be Improved:
1. Strength
2. Stiffness
3. Specific Weight
4. Fracture Resistance
5. Corrosion Resistance
6. Wear Resistance
7. Attractiveness
8. Fatigue Life
9. Temperature Susceptibility
10. Thermal Insulation
11. Thermal Conductivity
12. Acoustical Insulation
Fiberglass – An example of a composite material that is useful for civil engineering. Strong, stiff and corrosion resistant. Can be used to make concrete reinforcing rebars to replace corrosive steel rebars. These combinations of properties are formidable and cannot be found conventionally.
Other Examples:
1. Straw to strengthen mud in masonry construction
2. Metal armor
3. PCC
4. Fiber-reinforced concrete
5. Car metal for new automobiles
6. Fiber-reinforced and particle-reinforced plastics
7. Naturally formed composites (such as wood (cellulose and lignin))
8. Bone (protein and collagen)
Composites are classified as either:
Microscopic – Include fibers or particles in sizes up to a few hundred microns.
Macroscopic – Constituents of much larger size, such as aggregate particles and rebars in concrete.
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