Reasons For Using High-Tech Composite Materials Instead Of Common Materials In Product Manufacturing
A new material made from two or more basic materials is called a composite material. It does not simply join two separate materials. Rather, multiple materials are mixed together to make composite materials. It creates new materials that can be used to do better things.
Newly manufactured materials may have mismatched material properties. For example, \’reinforced concrete\’ is a type of composite material. Made of a mixture of concrete and steel, this material has a high resistance to pressure and strength. Similarly \’bullet proof glass\’ made of glass and plastic is much stronger than the basic two materials.
To get an idea about the possibilities of \’composite material\’, let\’s know about some of its advantages.
1. Sustainable and eco-friendly
Climate change and excessive waste generation are among the issues that are being emphasized around the world. People now want to use materials that will last for a long time. No one wants to use materials that have to be changed every two days. Various eco-friendly composite materials can meet their needs.
For example, the use of repairable \’carbon-fibre\’ in the manufacture of a product will increase the durability of the product. Hence, from aircraft parts to golf clubs, which were previously made of metal, the use of composites such as \’carbon-fibre\’ is becoming popular. But the problem is, once things made of carbon fiber break, they can\’t be put back together or recycled.
However, recently researchers from the University of Washington have come up with a new innovation to solve this problem. They have developed a composite material that is as light and strong as carbon fiber. But it can be repaired if it gets cracked. As a result, in the near future, carbon fiber or stronger materials could be used to create products that can be repaired over and over again.
If carbon fiber materials are used, it will also reduce the pollution inside the car. A Swiss company is using more durable composite materials made from natural fibers to make nine interior parts of motor sports cars. The materials used to make those cars were very polluting to work with. However, after using composite materials, it has been seen that the amount of pollution has reduced up to 94%.
At the same time, the use of composites has reduced 90% of the pollution that used to occur in the process from the collection of raw materials for the manufacture of those parts to the manufacture of the complete car.
2. Strengthening essential functions
The current work on composite materials is all about future needs like researchers using robotics, machine learning are researching here.
As mentioned, the Rolls-Royals company built a separate factory to research new composite materials. One of their jobs is to robotically create composite materials for jet engine fan blades.
Each part has 500 layers of carbon-fiber material. They are created in an automated way under the supervision of staff. And the assembly line work has been done with robots, so that the work can be completed quickly and efficiently.
Researchers have also developed a composite laminate (outer coating) that changes color when a problem occurs. They think that any problem while using these materials can be quickly identified and everyone can be alerted. So far the experiment with this material is going on. If it works as the researchers plan, this invention will bring big benefits in many ways.
For example, workers will be saved from producing defective composite materials in factories and product recalls will be stopped from the market. The team also reported that their new multi-layered material is lightweight and abrasion resistant. Since these two properties are the most important in composite materials, this invention can open many great opportunities in the future.
3. More work on materials-based development
Fabrics that do not require any knitting or weaving of the binding fibers are called non-woven fabrics. Researchers have recently developed such a composite material. They think this invention will be useful in making medical products like bandages, masks.
There are several things to keep in mind when creating materials that will be in contact with the human body for extended periods of time—especially when considering what will be used to make these composite materials. The research team wanted to emphasize both the ability to absorb more air and the ability to absorb water. Again they wanted to use cotton to ensure comfort.
Tests have shown that the newly developed fabric has a higher absorbency than conventional alternatives. This fabric also performed well in the stretch recovery test. This means that the fabric material will hold up well even after repeated use.
The team admits that, while other options have higher breathability and tensile strength, using cotton gives the new composite fabric a good advantage.
