Introduction to the Design and Analysis of Composite Structures

Book excerpt: Written as a self-paced training course, the books objective is to provide the professional engineer with a practical resource on the design and analysis of composite structures. With the recent high utilization of composite materials in aerospace, automotive, civil, marine, and recreational structures; comes the high demand for engineers with composites design and analysis knowledge and experience. However, the availability of engineers with the required knowledge and experience is difficult to obtain. Therefore, many engineers are faced with the daunting task of performing composites design and analysis projects with little background in composites design and analysis. The book is aimed at helping those engineers gain practical composites design and analysis knowledge in as short a time as possible. The book focuses on obtaining a fundamental understanding of the basic equations of composite material behavior which drive composite structures design. After completing the training course provided by the book, practicing engineers will walk away with the latest knowledge available to design weight-efficient composite structures.