Description

Most plastics in use are pure, but when additional strength is needed, plastics are reinforced with fibres and become composite, also known as reinforced plastics. The reinforcing fibres provide strength and rigidity to the composite, while the plastic resin provides cohesive properties, stability and environmental resistance.

Definition and requirements

In today’s aerospace industry, most applications use carbon as reinforcing fibres, so they are called carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP). CFRPs are made in layers added on top of each other until the piece has the properties necessary to support the loads it will carry.

Composite materials and manufacturing processes are qualified through trials and tests to demonstrate reliable design. The degree of care in the sourcing and processing of composite materials is one of the important characteristics of construction. Special care must be taken to check both the materials supplied and the way the material is processed once delivered to the manufacturing plant.