Editing Composite material (section)

{{Short description|Material made from a combination of two or more unlike substances}}

[[File:Composite 3d.png|thumb|Composites are formed by combining materials together to form an overall structure with properties that differ from that of the individual components]]

A '''composite''' or '''composite material''' (also '''composition material''') is a [[material]] which is produced from two or more constituent materials.<ref>{{cite web |title=What are Composites |url=https://discovercomposites.com/what-are-composites/ |website=Discover Composites |language=en-US |access-date=2020-12-18 |url-status=live |archive-date=2021-05-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522212843/https://discovercomposites.com/what-are-composites/}}</ref> These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or physical properties and are merged to create a material with properties unlike the individual elements. Within the finished structure, the individual elements remain separate and distinct, distinguishing composites from [[mixture]]s and [[solid solution]]s. Composite materials with more than one distinct layer are called ''[[composite laminate]]s''.

Typical engineered composite [[materials]] are made up of a [[binding agent]] forming the ''matrix'' and a [[Filler (materials)|filler material]] ([[particulate]]s or [[fibre]]s) giving ''substance'', e.g.:
* [[Concrete]], [[reinforced concrete]] and [[masonry]] with cement, lime or [[Mortar (masonry)|mortar]] (which is itself a composite material) as a binder
* [[Composite wood]] such as [[glulam]] and [[plywood]] with [[wood glue]] as a binder
* [[Reinforced plastic]]s, such as [[fiberglass]] and [[fibre-reinforced polymer]] with [[resin]] or [[thermoplastic]]s as a binder
* [[Ceramic matrix composite]]s ([[composite armor|composite ceramic and metal matrices]])
* [[Metal matrix composite]]s<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zhou |first1=M.Y. |last2=Ren |first2=L.B. |last3=Fan |first3=L.L. |last4=Zhang |first4=Y.W.X. |last5=Lu |first5=T.H. |last6=Quan |first6=G.F. |last7=Gupta |first7=M. |title=Progress in research on hybrid metal matrix composites |journal=Journal of Alloys and Compounds |date=October 2020 |volume=838 |pages=155274 |doi=10.1016/j.jallcom.2020.155274 }}</ref>
* [[advanced composite materials (engineering)|advanced composite materials]], often first developed for [[spacecraft]] and [[aircraft]] applications.

Composite materials can be less expensive, lighter, stronger or more durable than common materials. Some are inspired by biological structures found in plants and animals.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nepal |first1=Dhriti |last2=Kang |first2=Saewon |last3=Adstedt |first3=Katarina M. |last4=Kanhaiya |first4=Krishan |last5=Bockstaller |first5=Michael R. |last6=Brinson |first6=L. Catherine |last7=Buehler |first7=Markus J. |last8=Coveney |first8=Peter V. |last9=Dayal |first9=Kaushik |last10=El-Awady |first10=Jaafar A. |last11=Henderson |first11=Luke C. |last12=Kaplan |first12=David L. |last13=Keten |first13=Sinan |last14=Kotov |first14=Nicholas A. |last15=Schatz |first15=George C. |last16=Vignolini |first16=Silvia |last17=Vollrath |first17=Fritz |last18=Wang |first18=Yusu |last19=Yakobson |first19=Boris I. |last20=Tsukruk |first20=Vladimir V. |last21=Heinz |first21=Hendrik |title=Hierarchically structured bioinspired nanocomposites |journal=Nature Materials |date=January 2023 |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=18–35 |doi=10.1038/s41563-022-01384-1 |pmid=36446962 |bibcode=2023NatMa..22...18N |url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10179540/ }}</ref>
[[Robotic materials]] are composites that include sensing, actuation, computation, and communication components.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McEvoy |first1=M. A. |last2=Correll |first2=N. |date=19 March 2015 |title=Materials that couple sensing, actuation, computation, and communication |journal=Science |volume=347 |issue=6228 |pages=1261689 |doi=10.1126/science.1261689 |pmid=25792332 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2015Sci...34761689M }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Autonomous Materials Will Let Future Robots Change Color And Shift Shape |url=http://www.popsci.com/future-robotic-will-have-autonomous-materials |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170927065911/http://www.popsci.com/future-robotic-will-have-autonomous-materials |archive-date=27 September 2017 |access-date=3 May 2018 |website=popsci.com |date=20 March 2015}}</ref>

Composite materials are used for [[construction]] and technical [[structure]]s such as [[boat hulls]], [[swimming pool]] panels, [[racing car]] bodies, [[shower]] stalls, [[bathtub]]s, [[storage tank]]s, [[imitation]] [[granite]], and [[cultured marble]] [[sink]]s and countertops.<ref>{{cite web |date=2013-10-15 |title=Composites {{!}} Composite Materials|url=https://www.mar-bal.com/language/en/applications/composites/|access-date=2020-12-18|website=Mar-Bal, Inc.|language=en-US|archive-date=2015-11-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151113113423/https://www.mar-bal.com/language/en/applications/composites/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Applications {{!}} Composites UK|url=https://compositesuk.co.uk/composite-materials/applications|access-date=2020-12-18|website=compositesuk.co.uk|archive-date=2015-02-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226094956/https://compositesuk.co.uk/composite-materials/applications|url-status=live}}</ref> They are also being increasingly used in general automotive applications.<ref>{{cite web |title=Achieving Class A Appearance On Fiber-Reinforced Substrates |url=https://www.coatingstech-digital.org/coatingstech/june_2021/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=1697304 |access-date=2021-06-24 |website=www.coatingstech-digital.org |language=en |archive-date=2021-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920114526/https://www.coatingstech-digital.org/coatingstech/june_2021/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=1697304 |url-status=live}}</ref>