An undergraduate course in composite materials at the U.S. Naval Academy

The structure and topics in the composite materials course at the US Naval Academy are described. The theoretical development in the text gives a geometrical derivation of the strain tensor. If it is approached from the point of view of a general motion of a piece of material using a truncated Taylor's series, many worthwhile insights are reviewed or gained. In the early laboratory work unidirectional laminates are made and cut into strips. Most of the experimental verification in the course is done with very basic tools. Values for the modulii of composite materials are found by bending and buckling thin composite beams. The results are usefully accurate for the course and demonstrate the utility and feasibility of simple experiments.<
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