Mechanics of Laminated Composite Structures

In this textbook for students of laminated composite materials, composite structures, and anisotropic elasticity, Chyanbin Hwu draws on more than three decades of research and applications experience to provide a leading resource on many unique topics related to laminated composite structures. This book introduces the mechanical behavior of laminated composite materials and provides related theories and solutions. All basic structural elements such as beams, plates, and shells are described in detail. Further contents include composite sandwich construction and composite wing structures. To connect with practical engineering applications and analyze more complicated real structures, numerical methods and their theoretical basis in anisotropic elasticity are also included. Advanced topics addressed include solutions for magneto-electro-elastic laminated plates; Green’s functions for thick laminated plates and beams; typical thick laminated beams; theory for general laminated composite shells; sandwich beams, plates, and cylindrical shells as well as delaminated composite sandwich beams; modeling and analysis of composite wing structures; complex variable theories of anisotropic elasticity and the related Green’s functions; and numerical methods such as finite element method, boundary element method and meshless method. Through this book, readers will learn not only the mechanics of laminated composite structures but also anisotropic elasticity and some popular numerical methods. This textbook is vital for advanced undergraduate and graduate students interested in the mechanics of composite materials, composite structures, and anisotropic elasticity, such as aerospace, mechanical, civil, and naval engineering; applied mechanics; and engineering science. It is also useful for engineers working in these fields and applied mathematicians and material scientists.