Some of the important concepts and experimental results for the studies on polymer based composite materials are presented.
| 1) | For short fiber reinforcement, the most important factors are the aspect ratio and the ratio of the Young's modulus of the fiber and the matrix. Concept of the effectiveness of short fiber reinforcement is presented depending on the aspect ratio and the ratio of the modulus. The next is the degree of orientation of the short fiber and it is shown with real examples. |
| 2) | For the real composite materials, three dimensional shape of the reinforcing materials is important and some examples observed by three dimensional transmission electron microscope are presented. |
| 3) | Role of the interface in composite materials is pointed out with experimental results based on nano-mechanical mapping as well as the polymer surface. |
| 4) | Studies of the composite materials under deformation are emphasized for the practical application with some examples. |
Finally, expectation of polymer based composite materials supported by polymer nanotechnology is presented with very recent national project.