Engineering Mechanics of Composite Materials

The field of composite materials is rapidly expanding with increasing applications in aircraft, automobiles, leisure and biomedical products, and infrastructure. Composite materials have unique qualities of high strength and stiffness, are light weight, and can be designed to suit the intended application. This up-to-date introductory textbook on the mechanics of structural composite materials is aimed at both undergraduate and beginning graduate students and also at the newcomer to the field of composites. The material presented has been drawn from extensive course notes developed by both authors over many years. Beginning with basic concepts, definitions, and an overview of the current status of composites technology, the reader is taken through the theory and experimental results of research with many types of composites materials. The authors emphasize computational procedures and include flow charts for computations. The design methodology and optimization process for composite structures are described and illustrated with specific examples. One extensive chapter is devoted to experimental characterization and testing, including the latest test methods and ASTM standards. A wide variety of instructional sample problems and solutions are included. Engineering Mechanics of Composite Materials is an essential teaching tool and a self-study reference in composite materials.