Lecture schedule with PowerPoint links Composites Design and Manufacture Review papers on composites technology
Subject Index to JS' web pages

MATS324 Composites Design and Manufacture is a core module for the BEng (honours) Mechanical Engineering with Composites course (UCAS code J510/UoP code 3126).  This module is complemented by module MATS320 Composites Engineering and by module MFRG310 Quality Management II which are regarded as integral parts of the learning for this degree pathway and will be essential to satisfactory completion of the course. These modules provide an integrated approach to structural analysis, design, materials and processing selection, and quality issues for composite materials.  This module aims to:

The Teaching Support Materials (TSM) for module MATS324 are also appropriate for STAD322 Civil and Structural Engineering construction and design project and to MECH524 Composite Engineering Systems

The support material for this course has been partitioned into the following sections:
Theme  Topic  Lecturer  Reading list (text)  Reading Lists (ILS)
A  Materials Selection and Characterisation  John Summerscales (course pathway tutor)  reading list A ILS/A
B  Stress Analysis (now MATS320)  Stephen Grove  reading list B ILS/B
C  Manufacturing Processes  John Summerscales (course pathway tutor)  reading list C  ILS/C

Course Student Portal
available only to PlymNet users with UserID and password		 Definitive module records
BEng (honours) Mechanical Engineering with Composites MATS324 Composites Design and Manufacture MATS324 DMR (20 level-3 credits) 50% by examination and 50% by coursework.
MSc Mechanical Engineering MECH524 Composite Engineering Systems MECH524 DMR (20 level-M credits) 50% by examination and 50% by coursework.
BEng/MEng (honours) Civil Engineering STAD322 Civil and Structural Engineering construction and design project STAD322 DMR (30 level-3 credits) 33% by examination and 67% by coursework
Careers Graduate destinations  Composites People - global recruitment in composites
Careers Service one-off events calendar LinkedIn - composites community jobs  AeroIndustryJobs
 Advanced Composites Manufacturing Centre National Composites Centre National Composites Network (register for regular updates)

What is happening:

 External lectures on the Plymouth campus (or close by) Conferences and Short Courses
Contacts: Composites companies in Cornwall and Devon UK and Irish universities

Student projects:  Current and retrospective list  Titles for future projects
Support services:  Student Support Services  SUM:UP helps students with mathematics
Coursework:  General requirements for honours degrees  How to cite references in your reports
   JS' guidance on the requirements and rules for coursework  Academic dishonesty (including cheating and plagiarism)
   Late coursework and extenuating circumstances  Health and Safety (essential!)
   Characterisation of composites  ILS reading list for researchers
   Appendix A: resin infusion procedure  Appendix B: CRAG test methods for flexure and ILSS
   Equipment available at Plymouth  Suppliers of materials and equipment
  Abbreviations and acronyms  

The following resources may be useful.  If you are working off-campus and need Athens authentication to access electronic resources, precede the URL with https://exchange.plymouth.ac.uk/portal/library/athens.asp?url=
On-line resources:  On-line textbooks  On-line journals
   On-line newsletters  On-line software
   Kaye and Laby Tables of Physical and Chemical Constants (on-line at NPL)  Recommended ISO Standards for Composites Testing
   Common tradenames for polymers  Short descriptions of various materials
 Websites:  About Composites/Plastics  Engineering Fundamentals (efunda): Composite Materials
   NetComposites: Guide to Composites  NetComposites VirCon (VIRtual CONsultant in composites)
   Prospector:Composites search engine for composite material datasheets  
By sector:  Aerospace  Biomedical composites
   Composite bridges in Europe (case studies)  Civil and structural engineering
   Marine (case studies) .. WARNING: This page accesses ~10MB of images  Wind energy
 Encyclopædia:  Lee (editor), International Encyclopedia of Composites v1  v2 v3  v4 v5  v6  Kelly and Zweben, Comprehensive Composite Materials
Videos in the Library (and on YouTube):  Materials Matter - Composites (20 minutes)
 UK Central Office of Information/Department of Trade & Industry.		  Flight 587 (50 minutes)
 BBC broadcast on On Thursday 27 March 2003.
   Worlds Biggest Airliner - Building the Airbus A380 (2 hours)
 Channel 4 broadcast on Saturday 18 June 2005		  BOB: Box of Broadcasts:
 an off-air recording and media archive service.

You should consider membership of the following professional organisations, not least because your degree is accredited by the first two:
 The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3)  British Composites Society

 

 The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)  
 The Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE®)  UK and Ireland Chapter

The Library catalogue is called Voyager and uses the Dewey system.  The following shelfmarks are relevant to this course:
Composite materials Man-made fibres Polymer chemistry Polymer technology Reinforced plastics Textiles
620.118 547.85 547.84 668.4 620.1923 677

This twenty-credit module was "new" in Academic Year 2004/05 and combines two former ten-credit modules:
Former module codes 2003-2004 2001-2003 1995-2001 1993-1995
Composites Design MATS 322 MATS 318 MATS 313 MATS 302
Composites Manufacture MATS 323 MATS 319 MATS 314 MATS 303

ADVANCED COMPOSITES MANUFACTURING CENTRE
The centre (usually abbreviated to ACMC) embraces the undergraduate teaching, postgraduate research and commercial research - development - consultancy activities within the School of Engineering at the University of Plymouth.
HEALTH & SAFETY
It is important that all students are aware of the Health and Safety considerations for this module.  You will be required to attend the Health and Safety presentation and to sign to confirm that you have done so before you will be allowed to use the facilities in the ACMC laboratory (Brunel 007). This support material can be accessed online.

Return to School of Engineering home page
Other modules taught by Stephen Grove include:

Other modules taught by John Summerscales include:
COMSOL MATERIALS LIBRARY
The Material Library contains data for 2500 materials including the elements, minerals, soil, metal alloys, oxides, steels, thermal insulators, semiconductors, and optical materials. You specify a material in the Material Library browser, which enables you to easily find the desired material by name, or UNS (Unified Numbering System) number. Each material is represented by referenced property functions for as many as 24 key material properties, such as thermal, elastic, or electrical properties, depending on some variable, typically temperature. You can plot and inspect these function definitions, as well as change and add to them. They are then used in any coupling to other physics simulations that also depend on the property function variable in your multiphysics modeling.

ILS Reading List

  Hot-linked references may only return an abstract, which will allow you to judge the relevance of the paper to your work.
 Should you need to login to access the full publication, then use TalisList (ILS Reading List) with Athens authentication,
 or precede the URL with https://exchange.plymouth.ac.uk/portal/library/athens.asp?url=
Updated by John Summerscales on 18 March 2010 13:51. Terms and conditions. Errors and omissions. Corrections.
Advanced Composites Manufacturing Centre
School of Engineering
Faculty of Technology
University of Plymouth
Plymouth  PL4 8AA  United Kingdom