This book summarizes many of the recent advances in the design and application of thin-walled composite protective structures. The past few decades have seen outstanding advances in the use of composite materials in structural applications. Composites have revolutionized traditional design concepts and made possible an unparalleled range of new and exciting possibilities as viable materials for construction. This book presents an extensive survey on recent improvements in the research and development of composites and biocomposites that are used to make structures in various applications. This book deals with design, research and development studies, experimental investigations, theoretical analysis, and fabrication techniques relevant to the application of composites in load-bearing components for assemblies, ranging from individual components such as plates and shells to complete composite structures. This book also focuses the recent advances in biocomposite materials from renewable resources and introduces a potential application of this material. The content is this book benefits the academics, researchers, scientists, engineers, and students in the field of epoxy blends for application as lightweight advanced composite structures.

FROM THE INTRODUCTION Vehicle crashworthiness has been improving in recent years with attention mainly directed towards reducing the impact of the crash on the passengers. Effort has been spent in experimental research and in establishing safe theoretical design criteria on the mechanics of crumpling, providing to the engineers the ability to design vehicle structures so that the maximum amount of energy will dissipate while the material surrounding the passenger compartment is deformed, thus protecting the people inside. During the last decade the attention given to crashworthiness and crash energy management has been centered on composite structures. The main advantages of fibre reinforced composite materials over more conventional isotropic materials, are the very high specific strengths and specific stiffness which can be achieved. Moreover, with composites, the designer can vary the type of fibre, matrix and fibre orientation to produce composites with proved material properties. Besides the perspective of reduced weight, design flexibility and low fabrication costs, composite materials offer a considerable potential for lightweight energy absorbing structures; these facts attract the attention of the automotive and aircraft industry owing to the increased use of composite materials in various applications, such as frame rails used in the apron construction of a car body and the subfloor of an aircraft, replacing the conventional materials used. Our monograph is intended to provide an introduction to this relatively new topic of structural crashworthiness for professional engineers. It will introduce them to terms and concepts of it and acquaint them with some sources of literature about it. We believe that our survey constitutes a reasonably well-balanced synopsis of the topic.

The third volume of this six-volume compendium provides methodologies and lessons learned for the design, analysis, manufacture, and field support of fiber-reinforced, polymeric-matrix composite structures. It also provides guidance on material and process specifications and procedures for using the data that is presented in Volume 2. The information provided is consistent with the guidance provided in Volume 1, and is an extensive compilation of the current knowledge and experiences of engineers and scientists from industry, government, and academia who are active in composites. The Composite Materials Handbook, referred to by industry groups as CMH-17, is a six-volume engineering reference tool that contains over 1,000 records of the latest test data for polymer matrix, metal matrix, ceramic matrix, and structural sandwich composites. CMH-17 provides information and guidance necessary to design and fabricate end items from composite materials. It includes properties of composite materials that meet specific data requirements as well as guidelines for design, analysis, material selection, manufacturing, quality control, and repair. The primary purpose of the handbook is to standardize engineering methodologies related to testing, data reduction, and reporting of property data for current and emerging composite materials. It is used by engineers worldwide in designing and fabricating products made from composite materials.