As composite materials are used more extensively, a constant source of concern is the effect of foreign objects impacts. Such impacts can reasonably be expected during the life of the structure and can result in internal damage that is often difficult to detect and can cause severe reductions in the strength and stability of the structure. This concern provided the motivation for intense research resulting in hundreds of journal and conference articles. Important advances have been made, and many aspects of the problem have been investigated. One would need to study a voluminous literature in order to get an appreciation for this new research area. After writing three comprehensive literature reviews on the topic of impact on composite materials, I felt that there was a need to present this material in book form. The study of impact on composite structures involves many different topics, including contact mechanics, structural dynamics, strength, stability, fatigue, damage mechanics, and micromechanics. Impacts are simple events with many complicated effects, and what appears as a logical conclusion in one situation seems to be completely reversed in another. This variety and complexity have kept me interested in this area for several years, and I hope to communicate that to the readers.

This book attempts to present this new body of knowledge in a unified, detailed, and comprehensive manner. It assumes only a basic knowledge of solid mechanics and the mechanics of composite materials and can be used as a text for a graduate-level course or for self-study.