Modern, Smart and Composite Materials
The new families of material a designer can choose: modern materials made by new processes, smart materials that respond to a stimulus, and composites that combine materials for better properties.
Justify the choices, the way you are assessed
Free interactive practice on the decisions the assessment actually asks you to justify.
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New kinds of material
Designers can now choose from families of material that older products never had. Modern materials are made by new or improved processes. Smart materials change in a controlled, reversible way when something in their surroundings changes. Composite materials combine two or more materials to gain a property that neither one has on its own.
Words for new materials
Learn these four terms before you compare the material families.
Three material families
Keep these three apart. The difference is how each one is defined.
Only one must respond
Examiners often see these three confused. Remember that only a smart material must be reversible: it responds to a stimulus and can change back. A modern material is simply made by a new process, and a composite is defined by combining materials. Always say which property made the designer choose it.
Match the family to its meaning
- modern material
- smart material
- composite material
- technical textile
- developed through a new or improved process
- changes in a reversible way in response to a stimulus
- two or more materials combined for enhanced properties
- a fabric given an enhanced property, such as being fire-resistant
Match the example to its family
- graphene
- shape memory alloy
- GRP
- kevlar
- a modern material made by a new process
- a smart material that responds to heat
- a composite that combines glass and plastic
- a technical textile that resists cutting
What makes a material smart?
What makes a material a smart material?
- Its property changes in a controlled, reversible way in response to a stimulus.
- It is always the strongest material available.
- It is made by combining two or more materials.
- It was invented in the last few years.
Spot the composites
Select the TWO composite materials.
- GRP, glass fibres set in plastic.
- Carbon fibre set in resin.
- Titanium.
- Thermochromic pigment.
Order the choice
Put the steps of choosing a material in a logical order, earliest first.
- Identify what the product needs to do
- Decide the property the material must have
- Choose a modern, smart or composite material
- Make the product from the chosen material
Summarise the families
A _____ material has a property that changes in a controlled, reversible way when it meets a _____, such as heat or light. A material made by combining two or more materials for better properties is a _____ material, such as GRP. A material developed through a new process, such as graphene, is a _____ material. Designers pick each one for the useful _____ it provides.
Count the materials
A composite material is made by combining at least how many different materials?
Find the smart materials
Tap the TWO smart materials.
- Shape memory alloy
- GRP
- Thermochromic pigment
- Graphene
- Titanium
Which family is it?
Decide which material family each description belongs to.
- It changes colour when it gets warm and changes back when it cools
- It is made by setting glass fibres into plastic resin
- It is graphene, a very strong sheet made by a new process
Explain a choice
Choose a product that uses a smart or a composite material. Explain why that material was chosen and how its property helps the product work well.
- Name the product and the material it uses
- State whether the material is smart or composite
- Explain how the property of the material helps the product