Tag

Specific Stiffness

Entries tagged specific stiffness.

2 entries

Composites and sandwich structures

A composite combines a stiff, strong, brittle reinforcing phase with a tougher matrix that holds it in place and spreads load into it, and a sandwich structure applies the same trick at the scale of a whole panel, using stiff skins to carry bending and a lightweight core to carry the shear between them.

7 min

Mental model

Material selection by properties

Choosing a material for a part means finding the region of a trade-off space, stiffness against density, strength against cost, temperature limit against toughness, where every requirement is satisfied, then picking the lightest or cheapest way to sit inside it.

7 min