Concept

Composite material

A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or physical properties and are merged to create a material with properties unlike the individual elements. Within the finished structure, the individual elements remain separate and distinct, distinguishing composites from mixtures and solid solutions. Typical engineered composite materials include: Reinforced concrete and masonry Composite wood such as plywood Reinforced plastics, such as fibre-reinforced polymer or fiberglass Ceramic matrix composites (composite ceramic and metal matrices) Metal matrix composites and other advanced composite materials There are various reasons where new material can be favoured. Typical examples include materials which are less expensive, lighter, stronger or more durable when compared with common materials, as well as composite materials inspired from animals and natural sources with low carbon footprint. More recently researchers have also begun to actively include sensing, actuation, computation, and communication into composites, which are known as robotic materials. Composite materials are generally used for buildings, bridges, and structures such as boat hulls, swimming pool panels, racing car bodies, shower stalls, bathtubs, storage tanks, imitation granite, and cultured marble sinks and countertops. They are also being increasingly used in general automotive applications. The most advanced examples perform routinely on spacecraft and aircraft in demanding environments. The earliest composite materials were made from straw and mud combined to form bricks for building construction. Ancient brick-making was documented by Egyptian tomb paintings. Wattle and daub is one of the oldest composite materials, at over 6000 years old. Concrete is also a composite material, and is used more than any other synthetic material in the world. , about 7.

Official source

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composite_material

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related courses (32)

ME-432: Fracture mechanics

MSE-431: Physical chemistry of polymeric materials

The student has a basic understanding of the physical and physicochemical principles which result from the chainlike structure of synthetic macromolecules. The student can predict major characteristics of a polymer from its chemical structure and molecular ...

ME-212: Mechanical Design I: Manufacturing Processes

Application des principales catégories de procédés de production. Modèles physiques élémentaires décrivant le comportement des principaux procédés de production. Compréhension de base des aspects économiques des procédés de production. Méthodologie de ...

Related units (32)

IMX - Administration

Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites

IIC - Administration

Graph Chat

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.

Official source

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composite_material

About this result

Ontological neighbourhood

Chemistry

Organic chemistry: Polymer chemistry

Related courses (32)

ME-432: Fracture mechanics

MSE-431: Physical chemistry of polymeric materials

ME-212: Mechanical Design I: Manufacturing Processes

Related lectures (32)

Mechanics of Composites Materials

Covers the fundamentals of mechanics of composite materials and their design considerations.

Recycling of Composites

Explores the recycling process of composites, including fiber recovery, environmental impact, and potential applications of recycled fibers.

Weibull Model: Random Data

Explores the Weibull model's application to random data and its significance in analyzing material strength and failure probability.

Related publications (32)

Citius, altius, fortius: The crucial role of composites in sports

Véronique Michaud

This chapter reviews the multiple applications of composites in sports from a historical perspective, and the crucial role of composite materials in gaining performance, comfort, safety, and freedom of design in many sports applications. The focus is placed on Olympic sports, addressing composites' role in 15 different competition sports, ranging from water sports to cycling, from fencing to athletics and winter sports. Common trends are the benefits of using fibre-reinforced composites to increase specific

Elsevier2026

Design of debondable composite sandwich structures containing a primer based on thermally expandable microspheres: process window & thermomechanical performance evaluation

Véronique Michaud, Martyn Douglas Wakeman

• Efficient bonding and debonding of composite laminates and sandwich structures. • Primer enables on-demand thermal separation of thermoset composite layers. • Co-curing strategy for integrating the primer into high-performance composites. • Process windows were validated via thermo-mechanical characterization. • Assessed the primer effect on sandwich structures’ thermomechanical response. Disassembly of constituent layers in composite laminates remains a major challenge in repair and end-of-life recycling

Elsevier BV2026

Carbon-based charge collector with high conductivity and carrier selectivity

This invention relates to a carbon-based composite comprising a carbon material, said composite acting as a selective contact for positive charges or for negative charges in a photovoltaic or an electronic device and to an optoelectronic or photovoltaic device comprising a light-harvesting layer (3) comprising an organic/inorganic metal halide perovskite, and a carbon-based electrode (4) comprising said carbon-based composite.

2026

Related people (31)

Tara Habibi

Current Work SafeShore ProjectPrincipal Investigator Climate change will lead to significant sea level rise and more frequent, intense storm surges. These developments pose severe risks to coastal regions, threatening human lives, cultural heritage, and economic stability. Conventional shoreline protection methods, such as seawalls and armour blocks, have proven effective. However, their reliance on heavy concrete makes them slow to construct and environmentally unsustainable. To address these challenges, t

Arnaud Magrez

Education PhD., Materials Science, summa cum laude, Université de Nantes, 2002 M.S., Chemistry, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, 1999 Academic positions Head of the Crystal Growth Facility, EPFL, 2012-present Research Associate, Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Complexe, EPFL, 2003-2012 Research Fellow, Peter Grunberg Institute, FZ-Juelich, 2002-2003 Administrative positions at EPFL Scientific staff member, EPFL Assembly, 2015-present Scientific staff member, School Council SB, 2014-present Member of the IPHYS office 2016-present Member of the ICMP office 2012-2015 Member of the safety committee of ICMP 2010-2015

Véronique Michaud

Background: 1994 Habilitation à diriger des recherches ( INPG, France) 1991 PhD in Materials Engineering ( MIT, USA) 1987 Ingénieur Civil des Mines ( Ecole des Mines de Paris, France) Activities: Since January 2018: Associate Dean of Engineering, in charge of Education June 2012-Dec.2017: Head of the Materials Science and Engineering Section Since April 2017: Associate Professor at EPFL 2009-2017 : Professeur Titulaire at EPFL 1997-2009: Researcher at EPFL 1994-1997 : Chef de Travaux au laboratoire MSS-MAT, Ecole Centrale Paris (France) 1991-1994 : Post-doctoral research associate, MIT (USA) Author of about 300 publications of which 140 in peer-reviewed journals

Yves Perriard

Yves Perriard was born in Lausanne in 1965. He received the M. Sc. in Microengineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology - Lausanne (EPFL) in 1989 and the Ph D. degree in 1992. Co-founder of Micro-Beam SA, he was CEO of this company involved in high precision electric drive. Senior lecturer from 1998 and professor since 2003, he is currently director of Laboratory of Integrated Actuators. His research interests are in the field of new actuator design and associated electronic devices. In 2009, he is appointed Vice-Director of the Microengineering Institute in Neuchâtel until 2011. In 2013 the Federal Council has named him the the CTI commission in Bern. In 2014 he is appointed guest professor at Zhejiang University in China. In 2017, the lab is granted by the Werner Siemens Foundation of an amount of 12 millions CHF in order to set up a new Center for Artificial Muscules. Since 2018, he is Expert with Innosuisse, the new Swiss Innovation Agency. http://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=fr&user=V2onuO8AAAAJ https://actu.epfl.ch/news/a-12-million-franc-donation-to-create-a-center-for/

Sébastien Vaucher

Teaching & PhD Past EPFL PhD Students as codirector Thomas Alexandre, Kwanghoon Choi Courses Materials selection MSE-474 Propose suitable materials, design, and production routes depending on different performance criteria using a computer based software approach. The course is based on Prof. Mike Ashby's well known "Ashby plots" comparing different material properties (mechanical, thermal, chemical, etc.).

Julie Nathalie S Gheysen

Professionals experiences PhD student 2018–2022 Université Catholique de Louvain Teaching & PhD Courses Materials MSE-171 Introduction course of material science applied to usual building materials, especially concrete and metals. Description of their fabrication, mechanical and thermal properties and use in construction. Mechanical behaviour of materials MSE-234 This course provides an introduction to the mechanical behaviour, the processing, the structure and life-cycle o

Yoan René Cyrille Civet

Teaching & PhD PhD Students Simon Holzer Past EPFL PhD Students as codirector Dan Shi, Jasha Poliakine, Jonathan Chavanne, Quentin Philippe Mario De Menech Courses Electrotechnics I MICRO-100 The course covers the basics of electrical circuits composed of linear components, in direct current (DC) operation. A series of transforming methods are studied. At the end of the semester, alternate current (AC) systems are treated (complex numbers). Many examples and demos illustrate the course.

Harm-Anton Klok

Expertise Polymer design at nanoscaleBiologically-inspired polymers Mission Research at the Laboratory of Polymer (LP) focuses on the development of novel advanced polymeric materials with potential applications in optics, electronics or medicine. The philosophy is that precise control over nanoscale structure is an important prerequisite to tailor polymer properties. To this end, a “bottom-up” approach is followed, which starts with designing a new material at the molecular level, in order to be able to pr

Frédéric Pichelin

Teaching & PhD Courses Wood structures, properties and uses MSE-466 The presentation of tree growth and formation of wood anatomical structures, linked to the description of specific physical and mechanical properties, makes it possible to understand the different forms of utilisation of this material, including aspects of sustainable development.

Dominique Pioletti

Dominique Pioletti received his Master in Physics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) in 1992. He pursued his education in the same Institution and obtained his PhD in biomechanics in 1997. He developed original constitutive laws taking into account viscoelasticity in large deformations. Then he spent two years at UCSD as post-doc fellow acquiring know-how in cell and molecular biology. He was interested in particular to gene expression of bone cells in contact to orthopedic implant. In April 2006, Dominique Pioletti was appointed Assistant Professor tenure-track at the EPFL and is director of the Laboratory of Biomechanical Orthopedics. His research topics include biomechanics and tissue engineering of musculo-skeletal tissues; mechano-transduction in bone; development of orthopedic implant as drug delivery system. Since 2013, he has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor.

Related units (32)

IMX - Administration

Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites

IIC - Administration

Related startups (3)

EELCEE

Active in composite manufacturing, automotive industry and smart preform engineering. EELCEE pioneers high-volume structural composite manufacturing for the automotive industry, offering cost-effective solutions with a focus on automation and digital manufacturing.

Icoflex

Active in micro-machining, R&D services and watchmaking. Icoflex offers comprehensive R&D services for micro-machining hard materials, specializing in glass and ceramics, with expertise in mechanical design, energy harvesting, and sensor integration.

ABCD Technology

Active in thin film deposition, oxide materials and chemical beam epitaxy. ABCD Technology specializes in thin film deposition technology using Chemical Beam Epitaxy to produce top-quality oxide thin films for various high-tech markets.

Related concepts (32)

Fiber

Fiber or fibre (British English; from fibra) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate fibers, for example carbon fiber and ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene. Synthetic fibers can often be produced very cheaply and in large amounts compared to natural fibers, but for clothing natural fibers can give some benefits, such as comfort, over their synthetic counterparts.

Glass fiber

Glass fiber (or glass fibre) is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass. Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling. In 1893, Edward Drummond Libbey exhibited a dress at the World's Columbian Exposition incorporating glass fibers with the diameter and texture of silk fibers. Glass fibers can also occur naturally, as Pele's hair.

Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon composite, or just carbon, are extremely strong and light fiber-reinforced plastics that contain carbon fibers. CFRPs can be expensive to produce, but are commonly used wherever high strength-to-weight ratio and stiffness (rigidity) are required, such as aerospace, superstructures of ships, automotive, civil engineering, sports equipment, and an increasing number of consumer and technical applications.

Related MOOCs (4)

Advanced Timber Plate Structural Design

The proposed MOOC intends to foster trans-disciplinary design approach in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) for timber structures. It outlines an innovative and sustainable methodology with examples from recent construction projects. The primary development goal for this MOOC is to spread the innovative design approach in AEC we developed at EPFL. Therefore, the MOOC results from the compilation of five doctoral theses, research-industry technology transfer with our industry partner, and a

Building expertise on developing sustainable and resilient infrastructure

Drawing on the most recent developments in the area of social and environmental science as well as the expertise of practitioners this course will help you to understand what constitutes sustainable and resilient Infrastructure and teaches you how to achieve sustainable and resilient development goals through infrastructure development. In this context you will be introduced to SuRe®, an international voluntary standard for infrastructure and you will learn how SuRe® helps to make infrastructure more sustai

Sorption and transport in cementitious materials

In the MOOC: “Cement chemistry and sustainable cementitious materials”; you learned how to create more sustainable cementitious materials. But concrete is not an inert rock. It is a dynamic porous material, which can exchange water, gas and ions with its environment. Through physical and chemical interactions, these exchanges can have dramatic consequences: cracks due to shrinkage, reinforcement bars corrosion, spalling, … For a true sustainability, the durability of cementitious materials should not be f

Related exercises (7)

Ferromagnetic cylinder

An infinite cylinder of ferromagnetic material carries a uniform magnetization

{\bf M}

. What is the current density linked to the surface of the cylinder? Determine the fields

{\bf B}

and

{\bf H}

inside and outside of the cylinder. At the surface of the magnetized cylinder a linked current whose density(current per unit length) is

{\bf K}_b=M\,{\bf \hat{\phi}}

is circulating. The surface of the cylinder is behaving like an infinite coil that carries the same current density. So

{\bf B}={\bf H}=0

Oscillator on an inclined plane

A material point of mass m is required to move along a line with an angle of inclination α with respect to a horizontal line. There is no friction. The point mass is attached to a spring of natural length l₀ and of constant k.

Give explicit expressions for the forces.
Determine the equation of motion.
What is the oscillation period ?

Frame, coordinates and system: We take the inclined plane as frame of reference and choose the coordinate e_(x) parallel to the inclined plane oriented towards

Dielectric sphere

A dielectric sphere of radius R, subject to an uniform electric field

{\bf E}=E_0\,\hat{\bf z}

, is uniformly polarised (

\bf{P}=const)

. Determine the electric field inside the sphere and express it as function of the polarisation vector

\bf{P}

. Suggestion: Consider the superposition of two uniformly charged spheres, displaced from each other of a small distance d along the z axis, as in the figure. Take the origin of coordinate at the center of the negatively charged sphere. The electric field inside

Related notebooks (2)

Estimation of Electron Density and Mean Free Time for Transparent Conductors

Chapter 1: Transparent Conductors[1]¶ Instruction: The purpose of this notebook is to try and find values of electron density and mean free time for a material suitable to be used as a transparent conductors. The final estimate should be the order of the two parameters to be used[2]¶ In [1]: import numpy as np from bokeh.io import push_notebook, output_notebook, show from bokeh.layouts import row, column from bokeh.plotting import figure output_notebook() from ipywidgets import interact from collect

Powder X-Ray Diffraction Analysis: Exploring Crystal Structures.

XRay Diffraction[1]¶ The purpose of this notebook is to study the powder XRay diffraction spectra of some systems. When the crystal is hit with an XRay wave, the wave is diffracted only for specific case where the Bragg condition is satisfied for one of the lattice planes in the material. For single crystal diffraction, the condition is satisfied only for specific orientation of the crystal, such that the incident ray has the correct

\theta

value for the plane. In powder XRay data, however, any plane ori

Related exercises (7)

Ferromagnetic cylinder

An infinite cylinder of ferromagnetic material carries a uniform magnetization

{\bf M}

. What is the current density linked to the surface of the cylinder? Determine the fields

{\bf B}

and

{\bf H}

inside and outside of the cylinder. At the surface of the magnetized cylinder a linked current whose density(current per unit length) is

{\bf K}_b=M\,{\bf \hat{\phi}}

is circulating. The surface of the cylinder is behaving like an infinite coil that carries the same current density. So

{\bf B}={\bf H}=0

Oscillator on an inclined plane

Give explicit expressions for the forces.
Determine the equation of motion.
What is the oscillation period ?

Frame, coordinates and system: We take the inclined plane as frame of reference and choose the coordinate e_(x) parallel to the inclined plane oriented towards

Dielectric sphere

A dielectric sphere of radius R, subject to an uniform electric field

{\bf E}=E_0\,\hat{\bf z}

, is uniformly polarised (

\bf{P}=const)

. Determine the electric field inside the sphere and express it as function of the polarisation vector

\bf{P}

Related notebooks (2)

Estimation of Electron Density and Mean Free Time for Transparent Conductors

Powder X-Ray Diffraction Analysis: Exploring Crystal Structures.

\theta

value for the plane. In powder XRay data, however, any plane ori

Composite material

Chat with Graph Search

Citius, altius, fortius: The crucial role of composites in sports

Design of debondable composite sandwich structures containing a primer based on thermally expandable microspheres: process window &amp; thermomechanical performance evaluation

Carbon-based charge collector with high conductivity and carrier selectivity

Citius, altius, fortius: The crucial role of composites in sports

Design of debondable composite sandwich structures containing a primer based on thermally expandable microspheres: process window &amp; thermomechanical performance evaluation

Carbon-based charge collector with high conductivity and carrier selectivity

Design of debondable composite sandwich structures containing a primer based on thermally expandable microspheres: process window & thermomechanical performance evaluation

Design of debondable composite sandwich structures containing a primer based on thermally expandable microspheres: process window & thermomechanical performance evaluation