Basic knowledge of the mechanics and manufacturing of composite materials, which must be known for the design of components and / or structures that meet the needs of the industry, especially transport, whether it be metallic, ceramic and polymeric matrix in addition to particle reinforcements or glass, carbon and aramid fibers.

In materials science, the name of composite materials are those materials that are formed by the union of two or more materials to achieve the combination of properties that is not possible to obtain in the original materials. These compounds can be selected to achieve unusual combinations of stiffness, strength, weight, high temperature performance, corrosion resistance, hardness, or conductivity.1 Materials are composites when they meet the following characteristics:

These materials are born from the need to obtain materials that combine the properties of ceramics, plastics and metals. For example, the transportation industry requires materials that are lightweight, rigid, impact resistant and that resist well corrosion and wear, properties that rarely occur together.

Despite having obtained materials with exceptional properties, practical applications are reduced by some factors that greatly increase their cost, such as the difficulty of manufacture or the incompatibility between materials.

The vast majority of composite materials are artificially created, but some, such as wood and bone, appear in nature.