Composite material
Composite materials (or composites for short) are engineering materials made from two or more components. One component is often a strong fibre such as fiberglass, kevlar or carbon fibre that gives the material its tensile strength, while another component (often called a matrix) is often a resin such as polyester or epoxy that binds the fibres together and renders the material stiff and rigid.
Examples of composite materials:
- Glass-fibre reinforced plastic or GRP
- Carbon-fibre reinforced plastic or CRP (see carbon fiber)
- metal matrix composites or MMCs
- Chobham armour (see composite armour)
- plywood
- Weatherbest
- Glare, glass-fibre reinforced aluminium