Composites
In fiber-reinforced polymers, this component surrounds and binds the fibers while transferring load between them.
What is the matrix?
This property describes resistance to crack propagation.
What is fracture toughness?
This property measures a metal’s ability to plastically deform in tension without fracturing.
What is ductility?
This negatively charged particle occupies orbitals around the atomic nucleus.
What is an electron?
This temperature marks the transition of an amorphous polymer from glassy to rubbery behavior.
What is the glass transition temperature (Tg)?
This property describes how composite stiffness or strength varies with fiber orientation.
What is anisotropy?
Ceramics most commonly exhibit this combination of primary bonding types.
What are ionic and covalent bonds?
A single cubic inch of metal contains more of these than there are people on Earth.
What are atoms?
This property measures a material’s resistance to elastic deformation under load.
What is Young’s modulus (modulus of elasticity)?
The Space Shuttle leading edges were made from this ultra-high-temperature composite.
What is carbon–carbon composites?
This temperature must be exceeded during thermoplastic consolidation to enable polymer chain mobility and bonding.
What is the melt temperature (Tm)?
This fracture behavior is typical of ceramics due to limited plastic deformation.
What is brittle fracture?
This titanium alloy, widely used in aerospace, contains approximately 6% aluminum and 4% vanadium.
What is Ti-6Al-4V
This common crystal structure is characterized by atoms at each corner and one atom in the center of the cube.
What is body-centered cubic (BCC)
This property describes a material’s ability to absorb energy before fracturing.
What is toughness?
This failure mode in composites occurs when layers separate due to weak interlaminar bonding.
What is delamination?
his oxide ceramic is widely used as an electrical insulator and cutting tool material.
What is alumina (Al₂O₃)?
This metal has the highest melting point of any pure metal at about 3422 °C.
What is tungsten?
This line defect is primarily responsible for plastic deformation in crystalline materials.
What is a dislocation?
This type of primary bond involves a transfer of electrons and typically forms between metals and nonmetals.
What is an ionic bond?
This statistical allowable represents the material property value above which at least 90% of the population is expected to fall with 95% confidence.
What is (B-basis) allowables?
This ceramic matrix composite reinforcement is widely used in high-temperature aerospace applications such as turbine components.
What is silicon carbide (SiC) fiber?
Without these crystal defects, metals would be extremely strong but brittle.
What are dislocations?
This thermodynamic quantity must decrease for a process to be spontaneous at constant temperature and pressure.
What is Gibbs free energy?
This strengthening mechanism occurs when solute atoms distort the lattice and impede dislocations.
What is solid solution strengthening?