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American society for composites fourth technical conference, Blacksburg, Virginia 2–5 October 1989
Composites Science and Technology 38 (1990) 291-292
Conference Report
A M E R I C A N SOCIETY FOR COMPOSITES FOURTH TECHNICAL CONFERENCE. BLACKSBURG, VIRGINIA 2-5 OCTOBER 1989 The fourth in this now well-established series of conferences held by the ASC was hosted by the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and organized by a local committee, of which Professor K. L. Reifsnider was General Chairman. The conference itself was preceded by an afternoon of tutorials on Composite Material Systems, and was accompanied by a manufacturers' exhibition. The conference was co-sponsored by the Virginia Technical Center for Composite Materials and Structures, Virginia Institute for Materials Systems, and the Allied-Signal Corporation. The general theme of the conference was Composite Materials Systems. Some 100 papers from seven countries were offered, in parallel sessions, covering most aspects of the science and technology of the subiect. Individual sessions dealt with processing and fabrication methods, stress analysis, interfaces, damage and durability, failure mechanics, impact and damage tolerance, property evaluation, composite structures, and aspects of design. Current interest in thermoplastic matrix composites was catered for in special sessions on these materials. But surprisingly, at least from the point of view of a European, only two of the papers presented dealt with the hot topic of ceramic matrix composites (no pun intended!) and throughout the whole proceedings there was no mention, except in general terms in two of the plenary lectures, of metal matrix composites. The quality of the papers was high--at times very high. One of the sessions which appeared to excite 291
Composites Science and Technology (38) (1990)--~ 1990 Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd, England. Printed in Great Britain
292
ConJerence report
most interest was a concluding session on biomaterials, both natural and man-made: it says something for the fascination of this subject that the last speaker of the conference was able to command a sizeable audience, by contrast with the usual situation at the end of three-day conferences. Three invited plenary lectures were given during the conference. Dr H. W. Bergman, Director of the Institute of Structural Mechanics at DFVLR, West Germany, spoke on 'New Materials and Structural Concepts for Space Transportation Systems'; Professor R. J. Diefendort, Director of the ONR/ DARPA H1TASC Program, spoke on 'High Temperature Advanced Structural Composite Systems'; and Dr Frank Crossman, Assistant Director of Information Services at Lockheed Missiles and Space, spoke on 'Computer Integrated Composites Engineering and Manufacturing'. The occasion was also marked by the strengthening of US/USSR ties in the field of composites, a delegation of Soviet visitors being hosted by the conference and making presentations of their own work, the papers again being judged to be of high quality. At the conference dinner, the Society prize for outstanding contributions to the field of composites was presented to Dr N.J. Pagano of WrightPatterson Air Force Laboratories, a valued and respected member of the Editorial Board of Composites Science and Technology whose name is indeed a byword in the literature of our subject. Some 200 delegates attended the conference, and it is interesting to note that barely 25% of those listed in the pre-registration print-out represented non-academic institutions (i.e. industry and government). It is also quite remarkable that over 50% of the registrants were from VPI itself. Delegates were provided with a high quality hardback publication of the Conference Proceedings containing full texts of manuscripts submitted for presentation. The papers were submitted as camera-ready copy, but the almost universal use of laser printers resulted in a durable record of the proceedings without the usual defects of camera-ready material. The publication, which contains 994 pages, was edited by Professor J. Morton and is published by the Technomic Publishing Co., Inc., Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for the American Society for Composites, 1342 North Fairfield Road, Dayton, Ohio 45432, USA (ISBN 0-87762-717-7). The plenary lectures are not printed in the Proceedings volume.
Bryan Harris
Conference Report
A M E R I C A N SOCIETY FOR COMPOSITES FOURTH TECHNICAL CONFERENCE. BLACKSBURG, VIRGINIA 2-5 OCTOBER 1989 The fourth in this now well-established series of conferences held by the ASC was hosted by the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and organized by a local committee, of which Professor K. L. Reifsnider was General Chairman. The conference itself was preceded by an afternoon of tutorials on Composite Material Systems, and was accompanied by a manufacturers' exhibition. The conference was co-sponsored by the Virginia Technical Center for Composite Materials and Structures, Virginia Institute for Materials Systems, and the Allied-Signal Corporation. The general theme of the conference was Composite Materials Systems. Some 100 papers from seven countries were offered, in parallel sessions, covering most aspects of the science and technology of the subiect. Individual sessions dealt with processing and fabrication methods, stress analysis, interfaces, damage and durability, failure mechanics, impact and damage tolerance, property evaluation, composite structures, and aspects of design. Current interest in thermoplastic matrix composites was catered for in special sessions on these materials. But surprisingly, at least from the point of view of a European, only two of the papers presented dealt with the hot topic of ceramic matrix composites (no pun intended!) and throughout the whole proceedings there was no mention, except in general terms in two of the plenary lectures, of metal matrix composites. The quality of the papers was high--at times very high. One of the sessions which appeared to excite 291
Composites Science and Technology (38) (1990)--~ 1990 Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd, England. Printed in Great Britain
292
ConJerence report
most interest was a concluding session on biomaterials, both natural and man-made: it says something for the fascination of this subject that the last speaker of the conference was able to command a sizeable audience, by contrast with the usual situation at the end of three-day conferences. Three invited plenary lectures were given during the conference. Dr H. W. Bergman, Director of the Institute of Structural Mechanics at DFVLR, West Germany, spoke on 'New Materials and Structural Concepts for Space Transportation Systems'; Professor R. J. Diefendort, Director of the ONR/ DARPA H1TASC Program, spoke on 'High Temperature Advanced Structural Composite Systems'; and Dr Frank Crossman, Assistant Director of Information Services at Lockheed Missiles and Space, spoke on 'Computer Integrated Composites Engineering and Manufacturing'. The occasion was also marked by the strengthening of US/USSR ties in the field of composites, a delegation of Soviet visitors being hosted by the conference and making presentations of their own work, the papers again being judged to be of high quality. At the conference dinner, the Society prize for outstanding contributions to the field of composites was presented to Dr N.J. Pagano of WrightPatterson Air Force Laboratories, a valued and respected member of the Editorial Board of Composites Science and Technology whose name is indeed a byword in the literature of our subject. Some 200 delegates attended the conference, and it is interesting to note that barely 25% of those listed in the pre-registration print-out represented non-academic institutions (i.e. industry and government). It is also quite remarkable that over 50% of the registrants were from VPI itself. Delegates were provided with a high quality hardback publication of the Conference Proceedings containing full texts of manuscripts submitted for presentation. The papers were submitted as camera-ready copy, but the almost universal use of laser printers resulted in a durable record of the proceedings without the usual defects of camera-ready material. The publication, which contains 994 pages, was edited by Professor J. Morton and is published by the Technomic Publishing Co., Inc., Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for the American Society for Composites, 1342 North Fairfield Road, Dayton, Ohio 45432, USA (ISBN 0-87762-717-7). The plenary lectures are not printed in the Proceedings volume.
Bryan Harris