Composites

composites

4 materials · 5 types

What this is

Materials made of two or more parts, such as carbon fibre in resin, or honeycomb sandwich panels.

They give stiffness and strength for very little mass, but they can outgas and crack when thermal cycling stresses the join between the parts.

Grades of one kind compared side by side.

Glass and composites: Glass and fibre composites (borosilicate glass, fused silica, E-glass, carbon-fibre composite, aramid, FR-4): density, stiffness, strength and temperature limits with sources.

Pick a type to see its materials.

The measurements we use to compare composites. Each one has a standard test and a direction: is higher or lower better?

What matters
Measurement	Better when	How it is tested
Atomic oxygen erosionHow fast low-orbit oxygen eats the surface	lower	Flight (MISSE); ground ASTM E2089
Outgassing, total mass loss (TML)Mass lost in vacuum that can fog optics	lower	ASTM E595
Outgassing, condensable (CVCM)Vapor that recondenses on cold surfaces	lower	ASTM E595
Thermal cycling survivalHot-cold cycles survived without cracking	higher	ECSS-Q-ST-70-04
Flammability (crewed vehicles)Whether a flame spreads upward	higher	NASA-STD-6001 Test 1
Maximum service temperatureHottest it can work long term	higher	Material-specific
Minimum service temperatureColdest before it turns brittle or stops working	lower	Glass transition, ductile-to-brittle tests
Thermal expansion (CTE)How much it grows when heated; mismatch cracks joints	depends on the use	ASTM E831, E228