Introduction

Composite materials are made of two or more distinct materials or phases

Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers CHAPTER 11 Composites

This is done to exploit the best properties of each and reduce the effect of the weak properties We can improve strength, stiffness, fracture resistance, corrosion resistance, attractiveness, temperature susceptibility, thermal properties, etc. Have been used throughout history for CE applications: straw fibers in mud bricks, plain concrete, reinforced concrete, etc.
1
Mamlouk/Zaniewski, Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers, Third Edition. Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Mamlouk/Zaniewski, Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers, Third Edition. Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Recently: fiber-reinforced polymers Generally, the constituent materials have significantly different properties Properties of composite material are significantly different than constituents Auto and aero industries use high strength composite metals to build lightweight vehicles Wood is a natural composite of cellulose fibers (cell walls) and lignin (glue)
Mamlouk/Zaniewski, Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers, Third Edition. Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Composites Microscopic Macroscopic

Fiber-Reinforced Particle-Reinforced
Microscopic composites include fibers or particles in sizes up to a few hundred microns Macroscopic composites have constituents of much larger size, such as aggregate particles and rebars in concrete
Mamlouk/Zaniewski, Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers, Third Edition. Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

11.1 Microscopic Composites

consist of two constituent phases: a continuous phase, or matrix, and the dispersed phase or reinforcing phase, which is surrounded by the matrix

Aligned Fibers
Mamlouk/Zaniewski, Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers, Third Edition. Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Random Fibers Random Particles

6

Mamlouk/Zaniewski, Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers, Third Edition. Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Microscopic Composites (Cont.)

Consist of:

Fiber-Reinforced Microscopic Composites

Fibers dispersed in a matrix such as polymer (plastic) Fibers have near crystal-sized diameters

continuous phase or matrix usually polymer (plastic) dispersed or reinforcing phase surrounds, suspends, and binds fibers or particles transfers load to them

fewer internal defects

The matrix phase

much stronger than the bulk material (e.g., glass fibers are about 300x stronger that glass plates) Whiskers (very thin single crystals, high cost, poor bond) Fibers (glass, carbon and graphite, boron, ceramic, etc.) wires
8

Fibers

protects them against environmental attack and damage due to handling generally harder and stiffer than the matrix phase
7

The dispersed phase

Mamlouk/Zaniewski, Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers, Third Edition. Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Mamlouk/Zaniewski, Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers, Third Edition. Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Particle-Reinforced Microscopic Composites

Particles dispersed in a matrix phase Strengthening mechanism

Microscopic Composites CE Applications

Have been used in the last several decades Common applications

Structural shapes replacing steel and aluminum Fiber-reinforced polymer rebars

Strengthen and wrap partially damaged columns and bridge supports Fiber-reinforced concrete Entrained air in concrete
10

Mamlouk/Zaniewski, Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers, Third Edition. Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Mamlouk/Zaniewski, Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers, Third Edition. Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

FiberReinforced Concrete

Flexible FRP Rebars

Mamlouk/Zaniewski, Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers, Third Edition. Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

11

Mamlouk/Zaniewski, Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers, Third Edition. Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

12

11.2 Macroscopic Composites

Reinforced PCC

11.3 Properties of Composites

Loading Parallel to Fibers

Ec m E m f E f
Plain PCC Asphalt Concrete Engineered Wood

Xc m Xm f X f

Ff Fc

f Af c Ac

E f Af Ec Ac

Ef Ec

f
14

Mamlouk/Zaniewski, Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers, Third Edition. Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

13

Mamlouk/Zaniewski, Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers, Third Edition. Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Properties of Composites (Cont.)

Properties of Composites (Cont.)

Randomly Oriented Fiber Composites

Ec

Em E f

m E f f Em
Xm X f

Ec m E m K f E f
Where Kis a fiber efficiency parameter and K has a value of 0.2

Xc

m X f f Xm
15

Mamlouk/Zaniewski, Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers, Third Edition. Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Mamlouk/Zaniewski, Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers, Third Edition. Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

16

Summary
Combining different materials to produce a composite that has properties superior to the component materials has been practiced since ancient times. In fact, many of the conventional materials currently used in civil engineering are composites, including portland cement concrete, reinforced concrete, asphalt concrete, and engineered woods.

Summary
Composites are generally classified as either fiber or particle reinforced, depending on the nature of the dispersed phase material. The properties of composites depend on the characteristics of the component materials, the bonding between the dispersed and matrix phases, and the orientation of the dispersed phase.

Mamlouk/Zaniewski, Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers, Third Edition. Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

17

Mamlouk/Zaniewski, Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers, Third Edition. Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

18