COMPOSITE MATERIALS MERIT BADGE OVERVIEW
Composites can be found just about everywhere: in airplanes and sports cars, golf clubs and guitars, boats and baseball bats, bathtubs and circuit boards, and even bridges. Composites make bicycles and skis lighter, kayaks and canoes stronger, houses warmer, and helmets tougher.
COMPOSITE MATERIALS MERIT BADGE REQUIREMENTS
1. Do the following:
- (a) Explain to your counselor the most likely hazards you may encounter while working with composite materials and what you should do to anticipate, mitigate, and prevent, and respond to these hazards. Describe the appropriate safety gear and clothing that should be used when working with composite materials.
- (b) Explain the precautions that must be taken when handling, storing, and disposing of resins, reinforcements, and other materials used in composites. Include in your discussion the importance of health, safety, and environmental responsibility and awareness.
- (c) Describe what a safety data sheet (SDS) is and tell why it is used.
1. Do the following:
- (a) Explain what composite materials are. Include a brief history of composites and how they have developed.
- (b) Compare the similarities and differences between composites and wood, aluminum, copper, and steel. Describe the physical, electrical, mechanical, corrosive, flammability, cost, and other such properties. For each of these raw