The composites market is evolving fast. Global market projections indicate a 10.8 % growth by 2028, driven by the demand for composites across industries looking for materials with superior performance at reduced weight and cost.¹ This blog explores how advanced material analysis can enhance R&D and manufacturing processes in the composites market, ultimately leading to financial savings and increased efficiency.

While traditionally associated with the aerospace sector, composite materials have been adopted by several industries. Sectors actively utilizing composites include:

• Aerospace: Valued for their high strength-to-weight ratio, composites like carbon fiber reinforced polymer and aramid reinforced polymer enable the production of lighter, more fuel-efficient aircraft and satellites, contributing to reduced operational costs and increased payload capacities.²
• Automotive: A variety of automotive components, such as chassis and suspension systems, rely on composites for improved safety, fuel efficiency, and performance. Stringent emission regulations are driving this shift, including lightweighting automotive materials for enhanced fuel economy.³
• Renewable Energy: Composites are integral to the renewable energy sector, particularly in the construction of wind turbine blades and solar panel components. Companies are leveraging the dimensional stability, durability, and strength of these materials for operation under harsh environmental conditions, enhancing the longevity and efficiency of renewable energy systems.³
• Construction: Advanced composite materials, such as high-performance concrete mixes and fiber-reinforced polymers, can create structures more resistant to environmental degradation while offering excellent design flexibility. This improves construction longevity, reducing maintenance costs over time.⁴

While composites offer numerous advantages, manufacturers and material scientists face several challenges during their development and manufacturing including:

Designing and Selecting the Right Material

One of the main challenges in composites R&D is the selection of appropriate materials for specific applications. Researchers must consider criteria such as mechanical strength, thermal stability, and environmental resistance, which will entail the careful balancing of trade-offs between different performance characteristics.

Increased Complexity of Material Design

In achieving the desired balance of characteristics, scientists need to precisely control parameters such as filler orientation and distribution. Research has shown that the incorporation of nanofillers into a polymer matrix can bolster its mechanical properties and reduce water absorption in fiber-reinforced composites. As a result, strong interfacial adhesion is established between the matrix and nanofillers, allowing for efficient stress transfer during loading.

However, if not properly managed, the orientation and distribution of fillers within a composite can lead to variations in strength and other properties. The subsequent effect on the interfacial interactions can induce premature failure in the material.⁵

Sustainability

Reinforced polymer composites present several benefits, including the conservation of depleting resources such as metals and alloys. However, their disposal poses significant environmental challenges due to the non-biodegradable nature of petroleum-based polymers and synthetic fibers.

Consequently, research has increasingly focused on developing fully biodegradable and eco-friendly materials known as green composites. The use of green composites has significantly expanded across various engineering disciplines, yet the limited solubility of lignin-based materials for analytical purposes restricts the complete understanding and development of lignin-based green composites.⁶

New Manufacturing Techniques

Techniques like lightweighting and additive manufacturing deliver benefits but also introduce new challenges. Lightweighting replaces heavy materials with lighter-weight composites without compromising strength-to-weight ratios or structures’ fundamental design, while additive manufacturing increases throughput and design complexity. However, researchers must tackle the expensive nature of lightweighting processes, which can also risk impairing the ductility and formability of the materials, as well as concerns regarding the fabrication of composites with long fibers and complex cavities that surround additive manufacturing.^7,8

High Manufacturing Costs

Producing complex composite parts can require costly raw materials, specialized equipment, and skilled labor, leading to high costs. Effective quality control measures are essential to ensure that the final products meet the required standards without excessive waste or rework.⁹

To overcome these challenges, precise material analysis is essential. Key material properties to measure include:

• Glass Transition and Crystallinity: Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) is a powerful technique for measuring the glass transition temperature and crystallinity of composites. These parameters are critical for understanding the thermal and mechanical properties of the material. For example, NASA uses a TA Instruments DSC to determine the quality of thermoplastic composite panels, which is vital for ensuring their performance in space applications.¹⁰ Further examples of real-world composites research using DSC can be found in our blog.
• Cure Kinetics, Cross-Linking, Gelation, and Cure Conversion: DSC paired with LED-PCA accessory can measure cure kinetics and the extent of cross-linking, gelation, and cure conversion in composite materials. These measurements help optimize processing conditions to achieve the desired mechanical properties and durability.^11,12
• Structural Relaxation, Time-Temperature Superposition, and Aging: Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) provides insights into the viscoelastic behavior of composites, including structural relaxation, time-temperature superposition, and aging effects. This information is key for predicting the long-term performance and stability of composite materials under various, sometime harsh, environmental conditions.¹³ Learn more about DMA testing of composites in this blog.
• Coefficient of Thermal Expansion: Thermomechanical Analysis (TMA) measures the coefficient of thermal expansion, which is important for understanding how composite materials will behave under thermal cycling. This is particularly relevant for applications where materials are exposed to varying temperatures, such as in aerospace and automotive industries.¹⁴

In response to the rising demand for materials that combine superior performance with low weight and cost, the composites market is rapidly expanding. This growth trajectory underscores the importance of addressing inherent challenges in the development and manufacturing of composites, such as selecting and designing appropriate materials, ensuring sustainability, implementing new manufacturing techniques, and managing high production costs.

Advanced material analysis techniques, including DSC, DMA, and TMA, are crucial in overcoming these challenges. These techniques provide critical insights into the thermal and mechanical properties of composites, enabling researchers and manufacturers to optimize processes and achieve the desired performance and durability.

TA Instruments supports composite R&D with cutting-edge material analysis instruments, helping you to overcome the complexities of composite design and manufacturing. By investing in advanced material analysis, companies can lower costs, increase efficiency, and stay competitive in the rapidly evolving composites market.

For more information on how TA Instruments can support the R&D of your composites, visit our composites page or contact us to speak with an expert.