Experimental Characterization of Advanced Composite Materials, 4th Edition

Over the last three decades, the evolution of techniques for the experimental testing of composite materials has struggled to keep up with the advances and broadening areas of application of the composite materials themselves. In recent years, however, much work has been done to consolidate and better understand the test methods being used. Finally, a consensus regarding the best available methods exists, and definitive recommendations can be made.

Experimental Characterization of Advanced Composite Materials provides a succinct, authoritative treatment of the best available methods for determining the mechanical properties, thermal expansion coefficients, and fracture and strength data for composite materials. With an emphasis firmly on practical matters, it presents processing techniques, specimen preparation, analyses of test methods, test procedures, and data reduction schemes. Five chapters covering specific aspects of lamina testing are followed by discussions extending those principles to laminate responses. The treatment concludes by exploring composite durability issues with a detailed examination of defects and fracture mechanics.

The Fourth Edition is revised to include:

• New figures, updated ASTM standards, and an expanded index
• Major additions in processing of thermoset resins, neat resin tests, sandwich structures, cure analyses, damage tolerance tests, single fiber tests, fiber matrix interface tests, interlaminar tension tests, through-thickness tension and compression tests, open-hole compression tests, falling weight impact tests, compression-after-impact tests, sandwich beam and core tests, and more

With its concise format, detailed procedures, and expert assessments, this book is an outstanding resource for composites manufacturing and test engineers, lab technicians, and other industry professionals, as well as students, academia, and government research and engineering organizations. It brings together all of the most appropriate and widely accepted test methods developed to date.

Preface

Chapter 1 : Introduction
Chapter 2 : Analysis of Composite Materials
Chapter 3 : Processing of Composite Laminates
Chapter 4 : Test Specimen Preparation, Strain and Deformation Measurement Devices, and Testing Machines
Chapter 5 : Cure Shrinkage and Residual Stress Testing of Resins
Chapter 6 : Single-Fiber Tensile and Matrix Characterization Tests
Chapter 7 : Fiber-Matrix Interface Testing
Chapter 8 : Lamina Tensile Response
Chapter 9 : Lamina Compressive Response
Chapter 10 : Lamina Shear Response
Chapter 11 : Lamina Flexural Response
Chapter 12 : Lamina Off-Axis Tensile Response
Chapter 13 : Lamina and Laminate Thermoelastic Response
Chapter 14 : Through-Thickness Tension and Compression Testing
Chapter 15 : Laminate Mechanical Response
Chapter 16 : Open-Hole Tensile and Compressive Strengths of Laminates
Chapter 17 : Characterization of Delamination Failure
Chapter 18 : Damage Tolerance Tests
Chapter 19 : Sandwich Beam and Core Testing

References
Appendix A : Compliance and Stiffness Transformations and Matrix Operations
Appendix B : Preparation of Test Specimens and Panels
Appendix C : Sample Laboratory Report
Appendix D : Unit Conversions
Index