Introduction

When two or more different materials are combined, the result is a composite. People think composite materials were discovered recently. However, surprisingly, composites were firstly used in around 1500 BC when ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamian settlers used a mixture of mud and straw to create healthy and durable buildings. Straw has also been used as reinforcement to ancient composite products including pottery and boats. Scientists successfully developed various types of plastics in the early 1900s. However, plastics alone cannot provide enough strength for some structural applications. Therefore, reinforcement was deemed essential to provide additional strength and rigidity; subsequently, composites entered a new era. In 1935, Owens Corning introduced the first glass fibre (fibreglass). Fibreglass, when combined with a plastic polymer, creates an incredibly strong structure that is also lightweight. This is believed to be the beginning of the fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites industry.