This book is the first of two volumes providing comprehensive coverage of the fundamental knowledge and technology of composite materials. It covers a variety of design, fabrication and characterization methods as applied to composite materials, particularly focusing on the fiber-reinforcement mechanism and related examples. It is ideal for graduate students, researchers, and professionals in the fields of Materials Science and Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.

In two volumes, this book provides comprehensive coverage of the fundamental knowledge and technology of composite materials. This second volume reviews the research developments of a number of widely studied composite materials with different matrices. It also describes the related process technology that is necessary for a successful production. This work is ideal for graduate students, researchers, and professionals in the fields of materials science and engineering, as well as mechanical engineering.

This book mainly introduces the research overview, research results, and follow-up prospects of “Key Basic Scientific Problems on Near-Space Vehicles”, a major research plan of National Natural Science Foundation of China (hereinafter referred to as the Plan). The Plan is the first systematic basic hypersonic research program in China. From its inception in 2007 to its successful completion in 2016, the Plan lasted nine years, funded a total of 173 projects, and the funding totaled 190 million yuan. From the perspective of major national needs and scientific discipline development, the book focuses on four key scientific issues: aerodynamics in a near-space flight environment; advanced propulsion theories and methods; ultralight materials/structures, thermal environment prediction and thermal protection; and intelligent autonomous control theories and methods for hypersonic vehicles. The book also demonstrates China’s systematic and innovative achievements in interdisciplinary theories and methods and innovative techniques, paving the way for a distinctively Chinese basic research framework and further breakthroughs of near-space hypersonic vehicles.

This book is the first of two volumes providing comprehensive coverage of the fundamental knowledge and technology of composite materials. It covers a variety of design, fabrication and characterization methods as applied to composite materials, particularly focusing on the fiber-reinforcement mechanism and related examples. It is ideal for graduate students, researchers, and professionals in the fields of Materials Science and Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.

In two volumes, this book provides comprehensive coverage of the fundamental knowledge and technology of composite materials. This second volume reviews the research developments of a number of widely studied composite materials with different matrices. It also describes the related process technology that is necessary for a successful production. This work is ideal for graduate students, researchers, and professionals in the fields of materials science and engineering, as well as mechanical engineering.

Admired for their extraordinary stimuli-sensitive behavior and shape-changing capabilities, shape-memory polymers (SMPs) and multifunctional composites are among the most important smart materials. They continue to be widely applied in many diverse fields to create things such as self-deployable spacecraft structures, morphing structures, SMP foams, smart textiles, and intelligent medical devices. Written by renowned authors, Shape-Memory Polymers and Multifunctional Composites is a broad overview of the systematic progress associated with this emerging class of materials. The book presents an overview of SMPs and a detailed discussion of their structural, thermo-mechanical, and electrical properties, and their applications in fields including aeronautics, astronautics, biomedicine, and the automotive industry. Covering topics ranging from synthesis procedures to ultimate applications, this is a sound instructional text that serves as a guide to smart materials and offers an in-depth exploration of multifunctional SMPs and SMP composites, outlining their important role in the materials field. In each chapter, industry experts discuss different key aspects of novel smart materials, from their properties and fabrication to the actuation approaches used to trigger shape recovery. This comprehensive analysis explores the different functions of SMPs, the fundamentals behind them, and the ways in which polymers may reshape product design in general.

In recent years, among numerous advanced composite materials, non-homogeneous materials, such as functionally graded materials and laminated media, have received considerable attention in the field of structural design subjected to external thermo-electro-mechanical loads. Such non-homogeneous materials are composed of two or more materials of different properties or functions. The gradual change of properties can be tailored to different applications and service environments. It is possible with these materials to obtain a combination of properties that cannot be achieved in conventional monolithic materials. A typical example of non-homogeneous materials is the composites fabricated by combining piezoelectric ceramics with other materials. Such non-homogeneous materials are usually used for constructions of intelligent systems. The thermo-electro-mechanical properties of these advanced materials change with spatial positions. The knowledge of fracture behaviour of non-homogeneous materials is important in order to evaluate their structural integrity. A key feature of fracture which distinguishes non-homogeneous materials from homogeneous materials is that the resistance of the former to fracture and damage tolerance varies spatially. Consequently, analyses of fracture in non-homogeneous materials are considerably more complex than in the corresponding homogeneous case of the same specimen and crack geometry subjected to the same loading conditions. Associated complications involving spatially varying material constants have demanded the re-examination of the elastic crack problem. This book brings together the diverse achievements in the field.