The strength of fibre composites

Abstract

The properties of fibre composites are analogous in many respects to those of natural substances like wood and bone, for in his efforts to make lighter, stronger, tougher materials Man has unconsciously aped Nature. In composites the better engineering properties of inherently strong solids can be utilized while the effects of some of their less desirable features, such as brittleness, can simultaneously be mitigated. But the modern engineer has lost the habit of designing with highly anisotropic, heterogeneous solids, and these lessons must be relearned