Composite classification (fiber-reinforced, particulate, laminate), the matrix-reinforcement relationship, rule-of-mixtures property estimation, anisotropy and laminate design, and common composite applications.
Composites are where Module 5's polymers and Module 6's ceramics stop being separate material families and start being combined on purpose. This module builds the matrix-reinforcement relationship from first principles, works through the rule of mixtures that lets you estimate a composite's stiffness directly from its constituents' properties and volume fractions, and shows exactly why fiber orientation is a design decision rather than a manufacturing detail.
By the end of this module you should be able to explain why a unidirectional composite can be many times stiffer along its fiber axis than across it, and why getting a laminate's stacking sequence wrong is a design failure that stays hidden until the part is loaded exactly the way its designer failed to plan for — the same anisotropy reasoning Module 14's material selection module returns to when weighing a composite against an isotropic metal for a real design.