Advanced composites exhibit desirable physical and chemical properties that include light weight coupled with high stiffness (elasticity), and strength along the direction of the reinforcing fiber, dimensional stability, temperature and chemical resistance, flex performance, and relatively easy processing.
Also, materials within these categories are often called "advanced" if they combine the properties of high (axial, longitudinal) strength values and high (axial, longitudinal) stiffness values, with low weight, corrosion resistance, and in some cases special electrical properties.
Advanced composite materials have broad, proven applications, in the aircraft, aerospace, and sports equipment sectors.
The aerospace industry, including military and commercial aircraft of all types, is the major customer for advanced composites.
These materials have also been adopted for use by the sporting goods suppliers who sell high-performance equipment to the golf, tennis, fishing, and archery markets;[1][2][3] as well as in the swimming pool industry with Composite wall structures.
As automated processes become more predominant, the costs of advanced composites are expected to decline to the point at which these materials will be used widely in electronic, machinery, and surface transportation equipment.
Suppliers of advanced composite materials tend to be larger companies capable of doing the research and development necessary to provide the high-performance resin systems used in this segment of the industry.
[5] Aluminium has a relatively high fracture toughness, allowing it to undergo large amounts of plastic deformation before failure.