A Good Aerospace Composites Textbook?

[Mark172]

Hi, I'm looking for suggestions for a good composites textbook, preferably written with spacecraft/aerospace in mind. Ideally it would cover basic theory, analysis, and manufacturing.

Any suggestions? Is there a commonly referenced book (ie, a "bible"), like Roark's for structural engineering equations, Sutton for rocket propulsion, or Shigley for mechanical? Thanks!

 

[ESPcomposites]

Have you done a search? This question comes up quite often in the forums.

Brian

http://www.espcomposites.com

 

[Mark172]

Yeah, I did a search and there are about a dozen that people recommend. A couple are recommended a few times (Kaw, Barbero, and Ishai), but it's not definitive if these are the "bibles" of the aero composites industry. I was hoping that someone would be able to definitively say what the most accepted "bible" was for professional engineers (not novices or undergrads).

...if you're in the aerospace industry, you know what I'm talking about - whole companies have their entire mechanical training manuals based off of one or two textbooks (Shigley). They then have their entire propulsion manuals based off of one or two propulsion textbooks (Sutton, Huzel).

Just wondering if there are one or two similarly accepted bibles for composites, not just peoples' personal favorites.

Thanks!

 

[Andries]

Mark172,

I doubt whether, at this stage, there is a "bible" for composites in the same way that Bruhn has become one for metallic airframes. You will find that most of the large aerospace companies generate their own composite manuals incorporating test results and analysis methods developed over the years. These are obviously proprietary. One open source document that approaches this, in my opinion, is MIL-HDBK-17.

Regards

Andries

 

[IRstuff]

Please refrain from double posting.

TTFN

FAQ731-376
Chinese prisoner wins Nobel Peace Prize

 

[Mark172]

Andries, thanks for the response. I'll look up MIL-HDBK-17.

IRstuff, got it now, thanks. Wasn't sure how these forums work. I do have to point out that you double posted in response to my double posting.

 

[SWComposites]

There is no "bible".

For basic laminate analysis, get
Jones, Mechanics of Composite Materials

for manufacturing,
Mil-Handbook-17 has some info
ASM Handbook 21, Composites
join SAMPE and attend their conferences
subscribe to High Performance Composites magazine

other texts with some useful info,
Kassapoglou, Design and Analysis of Composite Structures
Niu, Composite Airframe Structures
Kollar and Springer, Mechanics of Composite Structures
Baker, Dutton, Kelley, Composite Materials for Aircraft Structures
Whitney, Structural Analysis of Laminated Anisotropic Plates

 

[WKTaylor]

Mark172

There are MANY aspects to composites that may have their own bibles... which are You interested in:

Stress analysis and durability and damage tolerance.

Primary and secondary structures detail design.

Integral Fuel tank design

Mechanical component design [IE: details like landing gear, pressure cylinders, tubes, links, fasteners, etc].

Fastening and joining.

Materials quantification and materials-testing.

Manufacturing [including QA/QC/NDI].

in-service inspection [visual and NDI].

Depot and field repairs; and repair inspection.

Failure [and mishap] Analysis.

etc...

Regards, Wil Taylor

Trust - But Verify!

We believe to be true what we prefer to be true.

For those who believe, no proof is required; for those who cannot believe, no proof is possible.

 

[Mark172]

Hi wktaylor, thanks for your response. I am most interested in stress analysis encompassing all the common failure modes (fatigue, buckling, fracture, impact, yielding, etc). After this, primary and secondary structural design, then lastly mechanical component design. I'm looking at this with the goal to get up to speed as a structural analyst on spacecraft (science satellites).

But to start, stress analysis. Do you have a suggestion or two?

Thanks again!

 

[ESPcomposites]

- Basic Mechanics: Daniel and Ishai, Jones, Barbero
- Stability: Kollar and Springer is more comprehensive/useful than Whitney's older book.
- Practical: MIL-HDBK-17, AIAA (Baker, Dutton, Kelly), ASM21, Niu
- Special Topics: Technical publications...have fun.

I plan to release a book next year that should more effectively present the stress analysis topics than any single one of the above sources. It can be thought of as a marriage of all those resources + better concept development and cohesiveness.

Brian

http://www.espcomposites.com

 

[Mark172]

Hi Brian, thanks for your response! I took a look at your website and would like to keep an eye out for the textbook you're putting out. What will it be called?

 

[Mark172]

I feel somewhat embarrassed - I just noticed the "Book" tab on your website which answers my question completely. I'll keep an eye out for it!