Composite Plates Impact Damage

This is a unique X-ray atlas illustrating damage in composite plates caused by non-penetrating impacts. A valuable aid in designing composites for different types of impact resistance. Damage to composite materials caused by non-penetrating impact is often internal, invisible and difficult to detect. This atlas contains more than 400 revealing pictures of impact damage from a variety of loads under a variety of conditions. The parameters are varied systematically to produce useful, reliable design data.

The Virtual Fields Method: Extracting Constitutive Mechanical Parameters from Full-field Deformation Measurements is the first and only one on the Virtual Fields Method, a recent technique to identify materials mechanical properties from full-field measurements. It contains an extensive theoretical description of the method as well as numerous examples of application to a wide range of materials (composites, metals, welds, biomaterials etc.) and situations(static, vibration, high strain rate etc.). Finally, it contains a detailed training section with examples of progressive difficulty to lead the reader to program the VFM. This is accompanied with a set of commented Matlab programs as well as with a GUI Matlab based software for more general situations.

A compact presentation of the foundations, current state of the art, recent developments and research directions of all essential techniques related to the mechanics of composite materials and structures. Special emphasis is placed on classic and recently developed theories of composite laminated beams, plates and shells, micromechanics, impact and damage analysis, mechanics of textile structural composites, high strain rate testing and non-destructive testing of composite materials and structures. Topics of growing importance are addressed, such as: numerical methods and optimisation, identification and damage monitoring. The latest results are presented on the art of modelling smart composites, optimal design with advanced materials, and industrial applications. Each section of the book is written by internationally recognised experts who have dedicated most of their research work to a particular field. Readership: Postgraduate students, researchers and engineers in the field of composites. Undergraduate students will benefit from the treatment of the foundations of the mechanics of composite materials and structures.

This monograph presents recent research findings on fracture properties and behavior of the composites, and their damage and cracking process under both quasi-static and impact loading conditions. Theoretical treatment, experimental investigation and numerical simulation aspects of the mechanics of composites, including sandwich structures are included.