Understanding damage and failure of composite materials is critical for reliable and cost-effective engineering design. Bringing together materials mechanics and modeling, this book provides a complete guide to damage, fatigue and failure of composite materials. Early chapters focus on the underlying principles governing composite damage, reviewing basic equations and mechanics theory, before describing mechanisms of damage such as cracking, breakage and buckling. In subsequent chapters, the physical mechanisms underlying the formation and progression of damage under mechanical loads are described with ample experimental data, and micro- and macro-level damage models are combined. Finally, fatigue of composite materials is discussed using fatigue-life diagrams. While there is a special emphasis on polymer matrix composites, metal and ceramic matrix composites are also described. Outlining methods for more reliable design of composite structures, this is a valuable resource for engineers and materials scientists in industry and academia.

'… a welcome addition to the literature. Numerous books treat separately the mechanics of composites and failure of materials: very few combine them together and in such a coherent and comprehensive manner.' Ettore Barbiei, The Aeronautical Journal

Ramesh Talreja is Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University. He earned his Ph.D. and Doctor of Technical Sciences degrees from the Technical University of Denmark and has since contributed extensively to the fields of damage, fatigue and failure of composite materials, authoring numerous books and editing several encyclopaedic works. Chandra Veer Singh is an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Toronto. He earned his PhD degree in aerospace engineering from Texas A&M University and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Cornell University. His research expertise is in damage mechanics of composite materials, atomistic modeling and computational materials science. His industry experience includes R&D at GE Aircraft Engines.