Foreword

ASM International is proud to offer Composites as Volume 21 of the ASM Handbook. The nominal basis for this volume was the Engineered Materials Handbook, Volume 1, published in 1987. However, this new edition is, to a large degree, a brand new volume. New or greatly expanded coverage is provided, in particular, in the Sections on constituent materials, analysis and design, and processing. New sections have been added to address the important topics of maintenance, repair, and recycling. Coverage of polymer-matrix composites has been enhanced to address the latest materials advances and new application areas. Coverage of metal-matrix and ceramic-matrix composites has been revamped and greatly expanded to reflect the increasing industrial importance of these materials.

With the release of this new edition of the Composites volume, it seems like a natural transition for it to become part of the ASM Handbook series. The Metals Handbook series was renamed the ASM Handbook in the mid-1990s to reflect the increasingly interrelated nature of materials and manufacturing technologies. Since that time the ASM Handbook has incorporated increasing amounts of information about nonmetallic materials in each new and revised volume. ASM expects that other volumes in the Engineered Materials Handbook will become part of the ASM Handbook when they are revised.

Creating the new edition of this monumental reference work was a daunting task. We extend thanks and congratulations on behalf of ASM International to the Volume Chairs, Dan Miracle and Steve Donaldson, and the Volume's 13 Section Chairs for the outstanding job they have done in developing the outline for the revision and guiding its development. Our gratitude is also due to the over 300 international experts from industry, academia, and research who contributed as authors and reviewers to this edition. In addition, we express our appreciation to the ASM International editorial and production staff for their dedicated efforts in preparing this volume for publication.