Composites
Composites combine the attractive properties of their constituent materials whist avoiding some of the drawbacks associated with their use in isolation.
Composites may be seen as a way of enhancing the performance of otherwise unremarkable materials enabling engineers to take advantage of other properties of the parent material, for example ease of forming or raw material cost, whilst still being able to meet more stringent design specifications.
CERAM’s knowledge of advanced composite materials, including technical ceramics, combined with our expertise in materials and process development is helping manufacturers to develop new products, processes and applications.
Why Use Composites?
- They offer combinations of properties, making them uniquely suited to certain high performance applications.
- Often they are the only class of materials which can achieve the required specific strength or stiffness in a cost-effective solution.
- They offer a flexibility in design and manufacture, often allowing the material to be tailored to meet the specification.
- By controlling the structure and manufacturing process of the components, the anisotropic properties of the composite structure can be exploited to maximise performance where it is needed.
Advanced composites, based on polymers, ceramics, and metals and employing high performance fibres or fine dispersions of particulates, display the property combinations (lightweight, high strength and stiffness) required for applications which are aimed at, for example, reduced environmental impact transport or enhanced protection against blast and ballistics threats.
Composites find uses in different industries and for different applications.
| Industries | Applications |
|---|---|
| Domestic and construction | Lightweight high strength structural components for buildings |
| Medical | Joint prostheses, external fixators, prosthetics |
| Industrial Components | Lightweight high strength components with controlled stiffness
|
| Energy | Structural components for renewable energy systems e.g. wind turbine blades |
| Aerospace & Defence | Lightweight structures able to replace metals in traditional designs and facilitate new designs. Enhancing the temperature capability of traditional metal or polymer components |
| Automotive | Lightweight body and chassis components providing impact resistance and mitigating and controlling crash damage |
| Electronic | Structural components and substrates for electronic packaging |