Material class
Composites
Two or more constituents (matrix + reinforcement) combined at macro/micro scale.
What you get
- Outstanding specific strength/stiffness (CFRP)
- Anisotropy can be designed into the laminate
- Fatigue and corrosion resistance superior to many metals
What you pay for it
- Costly raw materials and slow processing
- Complex failure modes (delamination, impact damage)
- Difficult joining/repair and recycling
Typical applications
Aerospace structures, wind blades, sports goods, automotive, pressure vessels.
Processing routes
Layup + autoclave, RTM, filament winding, pultrusion, AFP, out-of-autoclave prepregs.
Composites in the materials library
3 entries in the library belong to this class, each with its own property table:
- CFRP (carbon/epoxy laminate) — Polymer-matrix composite
- GFRP (glass/epoxy or polyester) — Polymer-matrix composite
- Al-SiC metal-matrix composite — Metal-matrix composite
Representative materials
CFRP (carbon/epoxy)GFRPAramid laminatesMetal-matrix (Al-SiC)C/C, CMC (SiC/SiC)
Other classes
Materials library →
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Choosing within composites
The selector ranks candidates inside a class — and tells you when the right answer is in a different class entirely.