Polyurethanes world congress 1987 proceedings

B o o k s & Publications was "Material Characterisation and the Assessment of Weldments" and this perhaps gives a better indication of the flavour of the proceedings than the actual title of the volume. The papers have all been written by experts for experts in the subject. Thus the volume is not likely to appeal to the generalist looking for an introduction to the fracture behaviour of welds. However for the engineer involved with the design of welded pressure vessels and already Possessing some knowledge of problems of joining thick steel plates the papers offer valuable new information since they are largely concerned with describing the results of recent research. The final paper is a report on a "Round Robin" exercise to assess the prediction of ductile instability in a large scale pressure vessel test based on a validation exercise devised by the Central Electricity Generating Board and is therefore an important document of record. In a well-prepared Preface a guide is given to the presentation of work in the papers on the major welding parameters which is helpful for those wishing to pursue specific topics. J. l"lutting

the proceedings volume. The papers have been reviewed prior to publication. The main objective of the conference and indeed of the American Composites Society as a whole, is to provide a forum for interdisciplinary exchanges among the scientists and engineers involved with composites. This was certainly reflected in the papers discussed in the conference which covered a wide range of topics such as Processing and Characterisation of composites as well Mechanics, Design and Non-Destructive Evaluation of composite structures. Polymer matrix composites clominated the whole spectrum of Paper presented. Metal matrix composites and fibre reinforced ceramics were represented with only 7 papers. This, again, underlines the potential that the polymer matrix composites offer in terms of weight reduction and, hence, energy savings in moving components. It was interesting to see that an ever increasing number of Papers dealt with Computer Aided Modelling of various aspects of composite manufacturing. Indeed, optimising processing conditions is one of the major challenges the manufacturing hdus,y faces. Sanford and/v~-~uEx~gh have derived a relation between conductivity and viscosity which can be very useful for in-situ viscosity measurements. It is worth also menPROCEEDING8 OF THE tioning the work of Campbell et ai AMERICAN ~ C I E T Y FOR who have conducted a systematic COMPO$1TF.S study of the effect of catalyst content, Tedmomlc Publi=hlng AG resin mixing and advancement, as ~ t t z e d a n d 1987 well as, the prepreg resin content 583 pp SFr 150 upon the properties of both resin and ISBN: 0 87762 569 7 prepreg. Their results were very The Proceedings of the Second indicative of resin behaviour under Technical Conference of the American various conditions and were very well Society for Composites have now presented. The topic of fracture mechanics been published from the Technomic Publishing Co. The conference was and/or modelling the mechanics of held in September 1987 at the failure of a composite was very well Llniversity of Delaware, Hewark, represented in the conference. A Delaware, LISA. A total 63 papers number of new approaches regarding have been presented in the conference, fracture mechanics analysis of com56 of which have been published in posites have been proposed, how-

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ever, in most cases, lack of experimental data was the major drawback= The conference was surprisingly poor on non-destzuctive characterisation with only 3 papers listed. Similarly, the papers on composite interfaces were insufficient in number and had nothing new to offer. The attempt by Kalantar and Drzal to evaluate the various parameters for the adhesion of polymer fibres to matrices is commendable, however, the fragmentation technique used, cannot be representative of i n ~ i c e conditions as it only determines the fibre/matrix adhesion at the point of fibre fracture and at very high matrix s~'alns. In general, the book of proceedings comprises a number of very interesting papers in areas like mechanical characterisation, fracture and processing of composites, but, it is rather disappointing in other important areas, such as, non-destructive testing and fibre/matrix interfaces.

C Galiotis

POLYURETHANES WORLD CONG~ 1987 PROCEEDINGS Technomic Publi=hlng USA 1987 952pp SFr 145 0 87762 529 8 This substantial 952 page volume in semi-stiff covers contains the contents of 156 papers presented at the congress which concerned itself with the miriad of applications in which polyurethanes have become established. The rapid diversification of polyurethane technology in the past five years has attracted enormous industrial interest such that it is becoming a universal material leaving behind its former category as a specialised plastic or rubber. Eighteen application sessions were held covering the following topic areas; ]. Processing Innovation; 2.

MATERIALS & DESIGN Vol. 9 No. 5 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1988

B o o k s & Publications Thermal Conductivity and Chlorofluorocarbons; 3. Speciality RIM and Sports; 4. ~ PolypS,aries; 5. Polyurethanes and the Environment; 6. Automotive Bumpers and Body Panels; 7. Const~ction and Electrical; 8. Chemical Innovation; 9. ~o~e and Transporlz~<~ (Laminates); 10. Construction; 11. Chemical innovation; 12. Automotive Seating; 13. Footwear; 14. Chemical innovation; 15. Automotive Interior Trim; 16. Refrigeration; 17. Fturdshing and Fire Resistance; 18. Chemical Innovation; 19. R~ces__sirKjInnovation; 20. Furnishing Foams. From this list of titles the flavour of the proceedings is readily apparent. This is not a book of scientific research on polyurethanes but a very practical compendium of present industrial practice and interests valuable to readers interested in product development and innovation. It contains at least one paper on nearly all the indus~al innovations to be introduced over the past few years, examples being polyurethane/thermoplastic blends, polyurea urethanes, bonded insulation, ionomer foams,

pobcnerrx~0k a ~ i c ~

I]~rERI~L~TION~JL DISSERTATIONS ON FIBRE POLYMER8

Dr John 8ummemcales and Mr David Short Technomic PubUsh~g AG Switzerland, Janumy 1988

164pp 8.Fr 70 IBSN 0 87762 574 3 The book contains an up-to-date listing of 2,792 dissertations from around the wodd on reinforced plastics, composite materials and related topics. alphabetically by author's names, the list comprises extracts from a number of databases and bibliographies, together with items submitted directly by staff at establishmerits where the research was undertaken. Sources of all dissertations are given, along with information for ordering or requesting from the sources.

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short fibre reinforcement, melamine fire retardant systems, aqueous release systems, MOCA replacements, and numerous machinery innovations; all of these in the various product application fields. The participating speakers, their companies and organisations are reputable and this helps in giving these proceedings credibility. Print quality and diagram reproduction is good and hence the text easy to read; these are common faults with many conference proceedings. An author index is provided though regrettably no subject index, The reviewer's general opinion is that these proceedings would save much time for new entrants to the polyurethane field and provide experienced works with a rapid revision course in application technology. C Hepburn

MATERIALS DATA SOURCES P T Houldcroft Mechanical Engineering Publications Ltd, UK 111pp 1987 £ 1 0 . 0 0 UK £ 1 2 . 5 0 Overseas ISBN: 0 85298 636 X The purpose of the guide is to direct the engineer to objective sources of detailed information. It is divided into four main sections: MetaLs and Alloys; Refractories, Ceramics, Glasses, and Hardmetals; Polymers and Composites; and Timber. For each category of material references are given to texts, standards, trade and research associations and academic establishments.

MATERIALS & DESIGN Vol. 9 No. 5 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1988

USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE MECHANICAL READINESS, RILIA]MLITY AND MAWrrAINABiIZ~ T Robert Shires

C.=m~tidge ~

We=s

USA April 1987 484 pp ~ 3 0 . 0 0 US $49.50 ISBN: 0 521 33183 8 The book contains the proceedings of the 40th Meeting of the Mechanical Failures Prevention Group of the National Bureau of Standards held at

Geth~bur~ Mas~md, in AorU1985. The meeting covered a wide range of topics under 11 session headings ranging from mechanisms of failure; materials durability;, materials durability evaluation; and detection, diagnosis and prognosis; with artificial intelligence (AI) applications prominenL The emphasis on AI is timely and although advances have been made in the period since the original presentation of the papers the material in the book serves as a good grounding for those unfamiliar with the techniques. The papers range from the purely theoretical through reporting on laboratory verification tests to reports of obsenrations on various systems now in operation, hence making the book of interest to virtually all engineers, scientists and students concerned with reliability and failure prevention. If there is to be a criticism then it must be in the variation of print present in the original papers and some of the illustrative photographs have lost their clarity in the reproductive process. The book will make an excellent reference book for those engaged in methods of making materials and machines more reliable. D Jackson

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