Fiber reinforced polymer composites are an extremely broad and versatile class of material.Their high strength coupled with lightweight leads to their use wherever structural efficiency is at a premium. Applications can be found in aircraft, process plants, sporting goods and military equipment. However they are heterogeneous in construction and antisotropic, which makes making strength prediction extremely difficult especially compared to that of a metal. This book brings together the results of a 12year worldwide failure exercise encompassing 19 theories in a single volume. Each contributor describes their own theory and employs it to solve 14 challenging problems. The accuracy of predictions and the performance of the theories are assessed and recommendations made on the uses of the theories in engineering design.All the necessary information is provided for the methodology to be readily employed for validating and benchmarking new theories as they emerge.Brings together 19 failure theories, with many application examples.Compares the leading failure theories with one another and with experimental dataFailure to apply these theories could result in potentially unsafe designs or over design.

Written by Puck's pupil and appointed successor Martin Knops, this book presents Alfred Puck ́s failure model, which, among several other theories, predicts fracture limits best and describes the failure phenomena in FRP most realistically – as confirmed within the "World-wide Failure Exercise". Using Puck ́s model the composite engineer can follow the gradual failure process in a laminate and deduce from the results of the analysis how to improve the laminate design.

Structural Health Monitoring of Biocomposites, Fibre-Reinforced Composites and Hybrid Composites provides detailed information on failure analysis, mechanical and physical properties, structural health monitoring, durability and life prediction, modelling of damage processes of natural fiber, synthetic fibers, and natural/natural, and natural/synthetic fiber hybrid composites. It provides a comprehensive review of both established and promising new technologies currently under development in the emerging area of structural health monitoring in aerospace, construction and automotive structures. In addition, it describes SHM methods and sensors related to specific composites and how advantages and limitations of various sensors and methods can help make informed choices. Written by leading experts in the field, and covering composite materials developed from different natural fibers and their hybridization with synthetic fibers, the book's chapters provide cutting-edge, up-to-date research on the characterization, analysis and modelling of composite materials.

This book presents an introduction to the design and manufacture of fibre-reinforced composites. The mechanical properties of unidirectional composites are considered in a structural design context. The use of woven and random fibres is also addressed. The accuracy of design estimates for unidirectional composites is benchmarked against test data, and the relevance of a factor of safety (FoS) is established. The importance of prototype testing is emphasised. This book illustrates how to make a fibre-reinforced composite. Wet layup, vacuum bagging and prepreg moulding are covered in detail. Some guidance on mould design and construction is also provided. Finally, an introduction to the manufacture of composite tubes is presented. Wherever possible, design and make examples are used to illustrate the content. Tutorial questions and problems are included at the end of each chapter. The reader is encouraged to use these questions and problems to assess their own level of understanding of the content.

Fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are used in almost every type of advanced engineering structure, with their usage ranging from aircraft, helicopters and spacecraft through to boats, ships and offshore platforms and to automobiles, sports goods, chemical processing equipment and civil infrastructure such as bridges and buildlings. The usage of FRP composites continues to grow at an impessive rate as these materials are used more in their existing markets and become established in relatively new markets such as biomedical devices and civil structures. A key factor driving the increased applications of composites over the recent years is the development of new advanced forms of FRP materials. This includes developments in high performance resin systems and new styles of reinforcement, such as carbon nanotubes and nanoparticles. This book provides an up-to-date account of the fabrication, mechanical properties, delamination resistance, impact tolerance and applications of 3D FRP composites. The book focuses on 3D composites made using the textile technologies of weaving, braiding, knitting and stiching as well as by z-pinning.

Updated and improved, Stress Analysis of Fiber-Reinforced Composite Materials, Hyer's work remains the definitive introduction to the use of mechanics to understand stresses in composites caused by deformations, loading, and temperature changes. In contrast to a materials science approach, Hyer emphasizes the micromechanics of stress and deformation for composite material analysis. The book provides invaluable analytic tools for students and engineers seeking to understand composite properties and failure limits. A key feature is a series of analytic problems continuing throughout the text, starting from relatively simple problems, which are built up step-by-step with accompanying calculations. The problem series uses the same material properties, so the impact of the elastic and thermal expansion properties for a single-layer of FR material on the stress, strains, elastic properties, thermal expansion and failure stress of cross-ply and angle-ply symmetric and unsymmetric laminates can be evaluated. The book shows how thermally induced stresses and strains due to curing, add to or subtract from those due to applied loads.Another important element, and one unique to this book, is an emphasis on the difference between specifying the applied loads, i.e., force and moment results, often the case in practice, versus specifying strains and curvatures and determining the subsequent stresses and force and moment results. This represents a fundamental distinction in solid mechanics.

This book provides a simple and unified approach to the mechanics of discontinuous-fibre reinforced composites, and introduces readers as generally as possible to the key concepts regarding the mechanics of elastic stress transfer, intermediate modes of stress transfer, plastic stress transfer, fibre pull-out, fibre fragmentation and matrix rupture. These concepts are subsequently applied to progressive stages of the loading process, through to the composite fractures. The book offers a valuable guide for advanced undergraduate and graduate students attending lecture courses on fibre composites. It is also intended for beginning researchers who wish to develop deeper insights into how discontinuous fibre provides reinforcement to composites, and for engineers, particularly those who wish to apply the concepts presented here to design and develop discontinuous-fibre reinforced composites.