Since 1970s, composite materials have been used more and more in aviation industry. Traditional materials for making airplane structures include aluminum, steel and titanium. The main benefits of composite materials are weight reduction and simplified assembly. Performance advantage and reducing the weight of aircraft structure are the main driving forces for the development of military aircraft composites.
Although commercial aircraft pay more and more attention to fuel economy, the main driving force for the development of composite materials is to continuously reduce production and maintenance costs. Composite materials have also been used to replace metal parts on old airplanes.
definition
In the definition of plastic terms, the International Organization for Standardization once defined composite materials as "a multi-system composed of more than two substances with different physical and chemical properties." It can be seen that composite materials should be a multi-system And their combination must have a compound effect.
Composite material has two meanings: in a broad sense, it refers to a solid material composed of two or more physical phases. For example: fiber reinforced polymer, reinforced concrete, asbestos cement board, rubber products, plywood, etc. In a narrow sense, it refers to plastic, metal and ceramic materials reinforced with high-performance glass fiber, carbon fiber, boron fiber and aramid fiber.