Mechanics of Composite Materials [Hardcover]

Autar K. Kaw (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0849396565 | ISBN-13: 978-0849396564 | Edition: 1

This innovative book provides a complete introduction to the mechanical behavior of composites. Unlike old-style texts, this book introduces the basics of composites through frequently asked questions the author answers from his considerable experience as a professor and researcher in the field. Among other things it explains the basics of composites, including their importance to industry and discusses the mechanical behavior and properties of a single lamina. The text is supplemented by user-friendly PROMAL software, which allows readers to conduct studies, compare theories, design structures, and quickly access the information in tables and graphs.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"well written, very readable, clear, and easy to follow. It has good quality figures, references, and exercises at the end of each chapter, and a good subject index at the end of the book. The book is recommended as a beginning graduate or a senior undergraduate textbook on composites. While for researchers who are new to composites, this is an excellent introductory book." -Applied Mechanics Review, March 1999

About the Author

Kaw; Autar K. University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA,

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: CRC-Press; 1 edition (June 30, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849396565
• ISBN-13: 978-0849396564
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,741,177 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Autar Kaw is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Florida, Tampa. Professor Kaw obtained his B.E. (Hons.) degree in Mechanical Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, India in 1981. He received his Ph.D. degree in 1987 and M.S. degree in 1984, both in Engineering Mechanics from Clemson University, SC. He joined the faculty of University of South Florida, Tampa in 1987. He has also been a Maintenance Engineer (1982) for Ford-Escorts Tractors, India, and a Summer Faculty Fellow (1992) and Visiting Scientist (1991) at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.

Professor Kaw's main scholarly interests are in engineering education research, bridge design, thermal stresses, engineering software, computational nanomechanics, and fracture. His research has been funded by National Science Foundation, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Florida Department of Transportation, Research and Development Laboratories, Systran Co, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, and Montgomery Tank Lines.

He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and a member of the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE). He has written more than forty journal papers and developed several software instructional programs for courses such as Mechanics of Composites and Numerical Methods.

He has authored textbooks on Mechanics of Composite Materials, and Introduction to Matrix Algebra, and co-authored a book on Numerical Methods with Applications. He is also a contributor to the MaterialsnetBase, an online library of material science texts, references and handbooks.

Professor Kaw received the Florida Professor of the Year Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching (CFAT) in 2004, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Curriculum Innovation Award in 2004, Archie Higdon Mechanics Educator Award from the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) in 2003, State of Florida Teaching Incentive Program Award in 1994 and 1997, American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) New Mechanics Educator Award in 1992, and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Ralph Teetor Award in 1991.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reference, November 9, 2006

By 

D. Sorkin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mechanics of Composite Materials, Second Edition (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Series) (Hardcover)

As a practicing engineer, I was refreshed to find such a well-organized, no-fluff reference on laminated composites. The examples are presented in a concise, piecemeal fashion; they are worked start-to-finish, right down to the algebra in many cases. No insulting assumptions about your level of competence are to be found.

The section on design and analysis provides an excellent arrangement of fully-worked engineering problems ranging from filament-wound driveshafts and pressure vessels (to demonstrate mixed-loadcase scenarios) to weight and cost optimization strategies for those interested in comparing composites to isotropic materials like steel and aluminum.

While the book provides an excellent overview of classical laminated plate theory, the one thing I found to be in want of was a proper section on the analysis of plates and shells. For that, the mathematically inclined reader is directed to J.N. Reddy's authoritative treatise on composites titled Mechanics of Laminated Composite Plates and Shells.

That is not to say that Mr. Kaw's title is in any way inferior to Reddy's work. It's rather like comparing apples to oranges; as such, to pit the two works against one another is inappropriate. On the one hand, Kaw provides a very digestable (and long overdue) introduction to composite materials, going into great detail about the terminology, sign conventions, coordinate systems, and mechanical behavior of composites without becoming long-winded or mathematically convoluted. Reddy picks up where Kaw leaves off, introducing variational methods like the Rayleigh-Ritz method, as well as energy principles from the likes of Galerkin. From there, the reader is presented with a rich array of analytical and numerical methods of finding stresses and strains under various types of loading and boundary conditions (which is what the practicing engineer is ultimately looking for).

What Reddy's work does for layerwise and shear-deformable theories of plates and shells, Kaw has done for the classical description of laminated composites. Mechanics of Composite Materials effectively bridges the gap between the outdated books of yesterday, and the technical articles that belong in academic journals. I can wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking for a proper introduction to the design and analysis of composites, while still being extremely accessible to the undergraduate.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Adequate, December 1, 2007

By 

Kyle R. Wurmnest "BU engineer" (Peoria, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mechanics of Composite Materials, Second Edition (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Series) (Hardcover)

This book is moderate at best. We used it in a graduate class I am taking as an undergrad. First off, mistakes in the examples and text are not uncommon, and they are very annoying. Second, the examples have too many references to previous examples. It is very annoying to be flipping back 3 chapters to see how an answer was acheived. It is fairly easy to read and the organization is acceptable.

Don't get too excited about the software. It may work well, but there is no written or electronic help/support.

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good book., September 18, 2010

By 

Cesar Alvarez - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mechanics of Composite Materials, Second Edition (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Series) (Hardcover)

It's a very good book. It's easy to read. It contains a very good explanations about the mechanical behaviour of laminas and laminates.