Although composite materials are currently use in the most important industries nowadays, they have some advantages and drawbacks that have to be taken into account. Here are the most important advantages and drawbacks of using composite materials.
Main advantages of composite materials
Composite materials offer a variety of advantages, which contribute to their widespread use in various industries. Here are some key advantages of composite materials:
- High specific strength and stiffness: compared with traditional materials like metals.
- Density: weight saving leads to fuel saving, increase in payload, or increase in range which improves performances.
- Tailored properties: to obtain a specific property for the final material, composite materials give a wide range of opportunities to meet them. For example, a variation of the properties of one of the materials affects directly to the final properties of the composite material. Other possibilities to the orientation of the plies, the thickness of the plie.
- Design freedom: as composite materials are mainly anisotropic; it gives the designer no constraints when designing a component.
- Reduction in the structure parts: less joints are needed as two components can be manufactured in one part using composite materials.
- Good surface finish: it depends in the manufacturing used and the mould surface finish.
- Fatigue: in comparison to metals, composite materials do not have fatigue or a little one which leads to enhanced life which involves saving in the long-term cost of the product.
- Corrosion: composite materials do not corrode as they are not metal with difference in potential. This means fewer requirements for inspection which results in saving on maintenance cost.
- Low thermal expansion: it has thermal expansion near 0 which can be useful to have a prediction in the composite shrink.
- Thermal Insulation: Certain composite materials, particularly those with polymer matrix components, can provide effective thermal insulation. This property is valuable in applications where temperature control or resistance to thermal conductivity is essential.
- Reduced Vibrations and Noise: Composite materials can have damping properties that help reduce vibrations and noise. This characteristic is valuable in applications where noise control or vibration damping is important, such as in aerospace or automotive engineering.
Despite these advantages, it’s important to consider the specific requirements and constraints of each application when choosing materials, as composites may not be suitable for every situation.
Main disadvantages of composite materials
However, everything that glitters is not gold. Composite materials has some drawbacks as it is stated in the following bullet points:
- Costs: The cost of raw materials, production techniques, and specialized equipment can contribute to higher overall expenses.
- Speed of manufacture: The manufacturing process for composite materials can be complex and may require specialized skills and equipment. This complexity can result in longer production times and higher labor costs.
- Control geometric tolerances: Ensuring consistent quality in composite manufacturing can be challenging. Variations in raw materials, curing processes, and other factors can lead to inconsistencies in the final product.
- Limited shelf-life and special storage requirements of some resins.
- Moisture absorption: This can lead to dimensional changes, reduced strength, and the development of mold or other issues.
- Temperature sensitivity: Elevated temperatures can cause degradation or softening of certain components, affecting the material’s mechanical properties.
- Joints: difficult analysis of bonded and bolted joints due to edge effects and stress concentrator.
- Brittle: because of its stiffness, once the reinforcements or matrix are broken, it does not continue carrying the load. They do not yield.
Despite these disadvantages, composite materials continue to be widely used and researched due to their unique combination of properties, which often outweigh the drawbacks in specific applications. Advances in manufacturing techniques and material science aim to address some of these challenges over time.
