Today's KNOWLEDGE Share :How important have composite materials

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

📢 Time to get technical... 📢

How important have composite materials been during the history of mankind? This schematic shows the relative importance of the four classes of materials (metals, polymers, composites, and ceramics) in engineering as a function of time! 😮

Composites have been part of human engineering for thousands of years.

But their role stayed relatively modest… until fiberglass changed the game.

Since the 1960s, composites have moved from niche solutions to core engineering materials. Enabling lighter structures, higher performance, and designs that simply aren’t possible with monolithic materials. 💡

That steady rise in relevance isn’t accidental.

It reflects how modern engineering thinks: optimize, tailor, and do more with less.

So let’s open the discussion:

What should define the next decade of composite materials and where should innovation focus next?

source: Material Selection in Mechanical Design / 4th Edition, Michael F. Ashby

credit:The Native Lab