[.ca] Mechanics Of Composite Materials, Second Edition (ISBN 156032712X)

composites-trends:
well written book . more practical application would have been appreciated. more information on trends in grp for next say 10 years

Not half bad:
When I took a composite materials course as a senior at NCSU, the teacher didn't. In a fit of desperation, I went to the bookstore and looked at all (3) composite books. This one used the same symbology as my prof's lecture notes, so I bought it, despite the price. What a great investment! The first chapter gives an excellent overview of the "why?" of composites. Chapters 2-end give you everything you every needed to know about composite mechanics (at least at the senior undergraduate level.) With this book, I learned the material and passed the course quite easily. Complaint: Like most textbooks, it gives very little coverage of computer modelling. Some, but not as much as I would have liked. It helped me pass the concept parts of the course, but I had to sink-or-swim on my own when it came time to write code. Other than that complaint, this is an excellent introductory book.

Good reference book:
I find this book to be a very handy reference. Sometimes the equations get very involved, but I do like the way the material is presented. The font is kinda wierd (newest edition), but thats just a subjective thing for me. I also like the design section in the back, and the depth of information on design considerations is neat. Including this book, Swanson's analysis book is another good addition for joggling your memory on composite analysis that you took in grad school. :)