Composite Materials Instruction At The United States Naval Academy

: Composite materials are widely becoming the material of choice for many structural and nonstructural applications. The aircraft industry for example, has used composites for wing skins and other control surfaces that provide savings in fuel consumption and weight. The marine industry incorporates thick single skin and sandwich composites for hulls, decks, risers and other primary structure, and the automotive industry uses composites to fabricate body panels, springs and drive shafts. The civil engineering community uses glass and carbon reinforced plastics in the repair of aging bridges, piers, columns and other structures vital to the nation's infrastructure and economy. Exposure to the mechanics of composite materials and structures is usually reserved for the graduate student. However, many undergraduate institutions find the need to provide their students with experience with these advanced materials and have crafted courses to do so. This describes the motivation at the United States Naval Academy (USNA). For the same reasons as other industries, the U. S. Navy is incorporating more composite material systems into its ships, aircraft and land vehicles. The paper describes a dual effort to expose midshipmen to composite materials and structures. Theory of composite materials is presented in a senior-elective course in the Mechanical Engineering Department. Here the midshipmen, using computational tools such as IDEAS, are taught the mechanics of composite materials including classical lamination theory(CLT). An elective course in the Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering Department focuses on experimentation and fabrication. This senior-level course combines both theory and practice in the selection and planning of methods, materials, and equipment to fabricate, upgrade, and repair marine structures (ships and offshore structures) made of composites and traditional materials.