Mechanics of Composite Structural Elements

This textbook is written for use not only in engineering curricula of aerospace, civil and mechanical engineering, but also for materials science and applied mechanics. Furthermore, it addresses practicing engineers and researchers. No prior knowledge of composite materials and structures is required for the understanding of its content. The structure and the level of presentation is close to classical courses of "Strength of Materials" or "Theory of Beams, Plates and Shells". Yet two extensions have been included: the linear elastic material behavior of isotropic and non-isotropic structural elements, and inhomogeneous material properties in the thickness direction. The Finite Element Analysis of laminate and sandwich structures is briefly presented. Many solved examples illustrate the application of the techniques learned.§- Classifcation of Composite Materials.- Linear Anisotropic Materials§- Effective Material Moduli for Composites§- Elastic Behavior of Laminate and Sandwich Composites§- Classical and Improved Theories§- Failure Mechanisms and Criteria§- Modelling and Analysis of Beams§- Modelling and Analysis of Plates§- Modelling and Analysis of Circular Cylindrical Shells§- Modelling and Analysis of Thin-walled Folded Structures§- Finite Element Analysis§- A. Matrix Operations§- B. Stress and strain transformations§- C. Differential Operators for Rectangular Plates (Classical Plate Theory)§- D. Differential Operators for Rectangular Plates (Shear Deformation Theory)§- E. Differential Operators for Circular Cylindrical shells (Classical Shell Theory)§- F. Differential Operators for Circular Cylindrical Shells (Shear Deformation Theory)§- G. Solution Forms of the Differential Equation§- H. Material's properties. Laminate and sandwich structures are typical lightweight elements with rapidly ex panding application in various industrial fields. In the past, these structures were used primarily in aircraft and aerospace industries. Now, they have also found ap plication in civil and mechanical engineering, in the automotive industry, in ship building, the sport goods industries, etc. The advantages that these materials have over traditional materials like metals and their alloys are the relatively high specific strength properties (the ratio strength to density, etc). In addition, the laminate and sandwich structures provide good vibration and noise protection, thermal insulation, etc. There are also disadvantages - for example, composite laminates are brittle, and thejoining of such elements is not as easy as with classical materials. The recycling of these materials is also problematic, and a viable solution is yet to be developed. Since the application of laminates and sandwiches has been used mostly in new technologies, governmental and independent research organizations, as well as big companies, have spent a lot of money for research. This includes the development of new materials by material scientists, new design concepts by mechanical and civil engineers as well as new testing procedures and standards. The growing de mands of the industry for specially educated research and practicing engineers and material scientists have resulted in changes in curricula of the diploma and master courses. More and more universities have included special courses on laminates and sandwiches, and training programs have been arranged for postgraduate studies.