Composite Materials Research Progress

In: Composite Materials Research Progress ISBN: 1-60021-994-2
Editor: Lucas P. Durand, pp. 109-128 © 2008 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Chapter 3
MAJOR TRENDS IN POLYMERIC COMPOSITES
TECHNOLOGY
W.H. Zhong
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics
North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND
R.G. Maguire
Boeing 787 Program/Phantom Works, The Boeing Co. Seattle WA
S.S. Sangari
Boeing Materials & Processes Technology, The Boeing Company, Seattle, WA
P.H. Wu
Spirit Co., Wichita KS
Abstract
Composites have been growing exponentially in technology and applications for decades.
The world of aerospace has been one of the earliest and strongest proponents of advanced
composites and the culmination of the recent advances in composite technology are realized in
the Boeing Model 787 with over 50% by weight of composites, bringing the application of
composites in large structures into a new age. This mostly-composite Boeing 787 has been
credited with putting an end to the era of the all-metal airplane on new designs, and it is
perhaps the most visible manifestation of the fact that composites are having a profound and
growing effect on all sectors of society.
It is generally well-known that composite materials are made of reinforcement fibers and
matrix materials, and light weight and high mechanical properties are the primary benefits of a
composite structure. Accordingly, the development trends in composite technology lie in 1)
new material technology specifically for developing novel fibers and matrices, enhancing
interfacial adhesion between fiber and matrix, hybridization and multi-functionalization, and
2) more reliable, high quality, rapid and low cost manufacturing technology.
New reinforcement fiber technology including next generation carbon fibers and organic
fibers with improved mechanical and physical properties, such as Spectra®, Dyneema®, and
Zylon®, have been developing continuously. More significantly, various nanotechnology
based novel fiber reinforcements have conspicuously and rapidly appeared in recent years.
Matrix materials have become as complex as the fibers, satisfying increasing demands for