Engineering Applications of Composites

Book excerpt: Composite Materials, Volume 3: Engineering Applications of Composites covers a variety of applications of both low- and high-cost composite materials in a number of business sectors, including material systems used in the electrical and nuclear industries. The book discusses the utilization of carbon-fiber reinforced plastics for a number of high-volume products; applications in road transportation; and the application of composite materials to civil aircraft structures. The text also describes the engineering considerations that enter into the selection and application of materials, as well as the composite applications in existing spacecraft hardware and includes projected applications for space vehicles and systems. The application of materials to military aircraft structure; the components applicable to personal and mass-transit vehicles; and composites in the ocean engineering industry are also considered. The book further tackles composite materials or composite structures principally found in buildings; composite uses in the chemical industries; and examples of fiber-glass-reinforced plastic components in key end-product markets. The text also looks into the most commonly employed molding techniques, mechanical and physical properties of various fiber glass-reinforced thermosets and thermoplastics, the resins and fiber-glass reinforcements available, and code information. The chemical, physical, and mechanical properties and application information about composites in the electrical and nuclear industries; and the potential high-volume applications of advanced composites are also encompassed. Engineers and people involved in the development of composite materials will find the book invaluable.