ABSTRACT
The use of composite materials, in general, is increasing in the aerospace, aeronautical, automotive, and sports industries due to their attractive specic characteristics, which enables weight to be reduced. Composite substrates in the form of ber-reinforced plastics are not isotropic, and several tests are necessary to determine all the mechanical properties of the material. One common form of manufacturing synthetic ber composites is using prepregs. A prepreg consists of a combination of a matrix (or resin) and ber reinforcement. It is ready for use in the component manufacturing process. It is available in unidirectional (UD) form (one direction of reinforcement) or in fabric form (several directions of reinforcement). For example, the new BOEING 787
11.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 279 11.2 Approaches for Strength Prediction ............................................................. 281 11.3 Strength Prediction in Natural Fiber Composites.........................................286 11.4 Factors Affecting Joint Strength ...................................................................290
