Some years ago in Paisley (Scotland) the International Conference on Composite Materials, headed by Professor I. Marshall, took place. During the conference, I presented a paper on the manufacturing and properties of the Soviet Union's composite materials. Soviet industry had made great achievements in the manufacturing of composite materials for aerospace and rocket applications. For example, the fraction of composites (predominantly carbon fibre reinforced plastics) in the large passenger aircrafts Tu-204 and 11-86 is 12-15% of the structure weight. The percentage by weight share of composites in military aircraft is greater and the fraction of composites (organic fibre reinforced plastics) used in military helicopters exceeds a half of the total structure weight. The nose parts of most rockets are produced in carbon-carbon materials. In the Soviet spacecraft 'Buran' many fuselage tubes are made of boron-aluminium composites. Carbon-aluminium is used for space mirrors and gas turbine blades. These are just a few examples of applications. Many participants at the Paisley conference suggested that the substantial Soviet experience in the field of composite materials should be distilled and presented in the form of a comprehensive reference publication. So the idea of the preparation and publication of a six volume work Soviet Advanced Composites Technology, edited by Academician J. Fridlyander and Professor I. Marshall, was born. This book is one of six titles in a coherent and definitive series of volumes dedicated to advanced composite materials research, development and usage in the former Soviet Union. Much of the information presented has been classified until recently. Thus each volume provides a unique insight into hitherto unknown research and development data. The book gives the basic principles used to develop high-strength, high-modulus polymer composites and considers a wide spectrum of parameters associated with such a task. After discussing types of matrix materials, the book progresses to the development and production of fibrous composites, their structure-property relationships, hybrid composite materials and finally the development of these materials in applications such as the aerospace industry. Polymer Matrix Composites will be of interest to anyone engaged in research and development in composite materials science and technology, both in industry and universities. Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Polymeric matrices in fibre-reinforced composite materials....Pages 1-91 Some principles for creating fibrous composites with a polymeric matrix....Pages 92-131 Structural carbon-fibre-reinforced plastics and their properties....Pages 132-198 Organoplastics....Pages 199-227 Glass plastics....Pages 228-268 Hybrid composite materials....Pages 269-304 Principles of developing organic-fibre-reinforced plastics for aircraft engineering....Pages 305-425 Back Matter....Pages 426-440
