ABSTRACT
The phrase “material property” refers to a measurable constant which is characteristic of a particular material, and which can be used to relate two disparate quantities of interest. Material properties are defined that describe the ability of a material to conduct electricity, to transmit (or reflect) visible light, to transfer heat, or to support mechanical loading, to name but a few. Material properties of interest herein are those used by engineers during the design of load-bearing composite structures. Two specific examples are Young’s modulus, E, and Poisson’s ratio, ν. These familiar material properties, which will be reviewed and further discussed in the following section, are used to relate the stress and strain tensors.
