Benefits of Composites

Light Weight - Composites are light in weight, compared to most woods and metals. Their lightness is important in automobiles and aircraft, for example, where less weight means better fuel efficiency (more miles to the gallon). People who design airplanes are greatly concerned with weight, since reducing aircraft weight reduces the amount of fuel it needs and increases the speeds it can reach. Some modern airplanes are built with more composites than metal including the new Boeing 787, Dreamliner.

High Strength - Composites can be designed to be far stronger than aluminum or steel. Metals are equally strong in all directions. But composites can be engineered and designed to be strong in a specific direction.

Strength Related to Weight - Strength-to-weight ratio is a material's strength in relation to how much it weighs. Some materials are very strong and heavy, such as steel. Other materials can be strong and light, such as bamboo poles. Composite materials can be designed to be both strong and light. This property is why composites are used to build airplanes-which need a very high strength material at the lowest possible weight. A composite can be made to resist bending in one direction, for example. When something is built with metal, and greater strength is needed in one direction, the material usually must be made thicker, which adds weight. Composites can be strong without being heavy. Composites have the highest strength-to-weight ratios in structures today.

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