COMPOSITES ARE INHOMOGENEOUS MATERIALS WITH VERY HIGH MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND LOW DENSITY.
THEY ARE MADE UP OF SEVERAL DIFFERENT SIMPLE MATERIALS, CALLED MATRIX AND REINFORCEMENT BECAUSE OF THEIR FUNCTION.
THE ROLE OF THE MATRIX IS TO ENCLOSE AND PREVENT THE DISPERSION OF THE REINFORCEMENT, WHICH IS DISPERSED IN THE MATRIX TO ENSURE THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF THE WHOLE.
DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF REINFORCEMENT, COMPOSITES ARE DEFINED AS FIBROUS OR PARTICULATE.
FOR EXAMPLE, IN FIBROUS COMPOSITES, THE REINFORCEMENT MAY CONSIST OF GLASS FIBRES, CARBON FIBRES, CERAMIC FIBRES, ARAMID FIBRES SUCH AS KEVLAR.