made up of carbon woven into a
cloth, impregnatted with resin to
hold them together
very
lightweight
high strength
often used in F1
racing and sports
equipment
Polymorph
a low melt polymer (60˚c)
which can be remoulded easily
Composite materials are made up
of different materials which are
combined to improve their
properties.
Man made
boards
Flexi ply
as with ordinary plywood,
there is an odd number of
layers - usually 3
expensive
used for aesthetics and
on furnitiure
Plywood: used for furniture and
construction Chipboard is used
for furniture panels and
construction
Glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) | lass
fibres and resin | used for Boats,
instrument cases
Technical textiles
Modern textiles can be engineered to have
numerous properties, such as additional strength
or resistance to fire, water and even dirt.
Nomex Heat resistant
and lightweight
used for Firefighters’ outfits
Kevlar
has 5x the
strength-to-weight ratio
of steel
fibres are woven
together flat
used for bulletproof
vests
Elastane
Stretchy, retains
shape well, cheap
and used for
sportswear,
leggings
Microfibres are much thinner than human
hairs and can be coiled to provide a very
warm, soft or absorbent material that can
be used in winter clothes or products such
as cleaning cloths.
Microencapsulation involves encapsulating liquid or solid
substances in tiny thin-walled bubbles. These microspheres
gradually release active agents when rubbed, which rupture the
thin-walled membrane. This can bring benefits such as smelling
good to cover body odours in sports clothing. A similar
technology is used in the scratch and sniff perfume and
aftershave samples in magazines.
Smart
Thermochromic
pigments
Change colour in
response to heat
Phosphorescent
pigments
absorb light and then
release the light
energy over a period
of time
e.g. emergency
warning signs,
24hr clock faces
Shape memory
alloys
e.g. nitinol
wire
shrinks in length by 5%
when an electrical
current is passed
through it
e.g. memoflex glasses
nickel/titanium alloy which will
return to its original shape at
room temperature after being
deformed. A 'superelastic' alloy