Laminated Material

any of the composite materials in which the elements making up the composition are in the form of layers. The layers (of metal, fiber glass) for laminated materials can be produced separately (in the form of plates, sheets, strips) and then joined either by mechanical methods (clamps, bolts, rivets) or by welding, simultaneous rolling, or pressing. Laminated materials are also produced by the separation of layers in the original volume caused by local change in the material’s structure. This local change can be induced by onesided hardening or tempering of steel slabs or by cold working. Laminated materials are sometimes produced in a process that combines the formation of layers with composition of the whole, as in the smelting of multilayered ingots, the rolling of welded slabs, and the roasting and pressing of laminar powdered conglomerates.

Laminated materials are structural materials with marked unit strength. When subjected to large shearing stresses, they exhibit greater strength than composite materials reinforced with unidimensional elements (fibers). For example, the tensile strength of laminated materials made from sheet steel (whose ultimate strength is 1.8 giganewtons per sq m [GN/m²]) and fiber glass is more than 3 GN/m² (based on the amount of steel). Using suitable materials, laminated materials can be obtained with a given set of thermomechanical, electrical, and chemical properties.