Properties and Mechanics of Materials

Abstract

WRITTEN for students of American universities and based on American standards and specifications, this book, within these limitations, constitutes a useful introduction to the subject, in that it combines an account of the stresses to which materials are subjected in constructional work with the description of the materials themselves. It is mainly of the nature of a preliminary survey, with the emphasis properly laid on fundamental principles, which it is desirable that the student should grasp thoroughly before allowing his attention to be diverted to specialised problems. The English engineering student will find in it a number of terms, units, and methods with which he may not be altogether familiar, but it will be useful to him in widening the range of his knowledge and giving him an insight into trans-Atlantic standards and practice. At the same time, the references to the conditions governing such characteristic American structures as the multi-story building, or “skyscraper”? are by no means prominent, and one looks in vain for information on the subject of foundations. There is a list of references for further reading, but it is entirely American? no British or European standard books are quoted. Properties and Mechanics of Materials. Prof. P. G. Laurson Prof. W. J. Cox By. Pp. x + 353. (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.; London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1931.) 17s. 6d. net.