When my young colleague gave me his manuscript to proofread and asked me to write a few words for a foreword, it is with great pleasure that I accepted, even though the preamble and title were quite sufficient to present this book.
Many books have been written on composite materials. The originality of this one comes in part from the objective, which is targeted towards aircraft structures made of composite materials. To this end, the calculation of holed structures, and their subsequent multi-bolt joints, and the theme of damage tolerance are presented alongside the problems that they carry with them, as well as the calculation methods that are currently in use. These two axes are rarely presented in the literature, yet they are essential to perform an accurate and realistic sizing since they often govern the resistance of a given structure and thus its sizing.
This book covers all classic notions surrounding composite structures. Theoretical formulae are presented concisely and without unnecessary developments allowing the focus to remain on the essentials. When studying criteria, another crucial point, the differences between first damage and final fracture are made abundantly clear, something that is essential for achieving optimal structures and performing realistic calculations. This is another essential aspect of composite calculations that is nonetheless quite absent from the literature.
Lastly, a number of exercises surrounding all studied themes are proposed with complete and detailed corrections. They will allow the readers to assimilate the presented themes more easily. This is without doubt one of this book’s strongest assets as there are few other titles that carry quite this many examples.
I recommend reading this book as it uses concision and precision to provide essential bases for designing and sizing composite structures.
Jean-Jacques BARRAU
Former Professor at the University Paul Sabatier
Toulouse, France