Composite Materials

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  • Created by: rjones97
  • Created on: 03-05-16 17:29

Composite Materials

Advantages

  • GRP
  • Excellent strength to weight ratio
  • Resistant to corrosion
  • Water resistant
  • Ideal for external shell structures
  • Wide range of colours as pigments can be added to the resin
  • Can be repaired easily
  • CARBON FIBRE
  • Excellent strength to weight ratio
  • Better tensile strength than steel alloys
  • Can be engineered to be anisotropic (fabric orientated in different directions)
  • Can be formed into complex and aerodynamic one-piece structures
  • MDF
  • Less expensive than natural timbers
  • Available in large sheet sizes and a range of thicknesses
  • Isotropic (no grain), so not tendency to split
  • Consistent strength in all directions

Disadvantages

  • GRP
  • Expensive material
  • Specialised manufacturing process required
  • High-quality mould needed.
  • CARBON FIBRE
  • Very expensive material
  • Only available in black
  • Highly specialised manufacturing processes required
  • Cannot be easily repaired as structure loses integrity
  • Cannot be easily recycled
  • MDF
  • Heavier
  • Requires appropriate finishes to seal surface fibres
  • Swells and breaks when waterlogged
  • Warps or expands if not sealed
  • Contains urea-formaldehyde which may cause eye and lung irritation when cutting and sanding
  • Dulls blades more quickly than many woods

Evaluation

APPLICATIONS - GRP - vehicle bodies, fairground ridesCARBON FIBRE - sports equipment, aircraft and vehicle componentsMDF - flat pack furniture, joinery work, moulds for forming processes

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