It is important to choose the right kind of composite core material that works as intended and offers the properties specified for users’ applications. However, there are many practical material ...

Computational homogenization has emerged as an indispensable tool for bridging the gap between the microscale heterogeneity of composite materials and their macroscopic behaviour. By employing ...

UD tapes must be fully impregnated since there is no carrier to support the material in the transverse direction such as the paper used with thermoset prepregs. Most UD tapes are supplied in ...

Composites are materials composed of at least two distinct phases (for example carbon fibers in a polymer matrix) in a defined geometric relationship, which are constructed in such a manner that the ...

Laminated fiber-reinforced composite materials are being used in more and more engineering applications. These materials have excellent strength-to-weight ratios and the manufacturing processes that ...

Composite materials are engineered by fusing different materials, typically consisting of a matrix (a polymer, metal, or ceramic) and a reinforcement (such as fibers, particles, or flakes) that ...

In my August 2021 column, I introduced the composites building block approach as a step-by-step series of mechanical tests of increasing complexity, coupled with analyses performed at each step, that ...

Materials scientists are looking to nature -- at the discs in human spines and the skin in ocean-diving fish, for example -- for clues about how to use liquid to increase the stiffness of flexible ...