There has been a growing interest in the foundation of the theory of th- walled composite beams and of their incorporation in aeronautical/aerospace, automotive, helicopter and turbomachinery rotor blades, mechanical,civil and naval constructions inthe last two decades or so. The proliferation of the specialized literature, mainly in the form of journal/ proceedings papers, and the activity in terms of workshops devoted to this topic attest this interest. A decisive factor that has fueled thisgrowing activity was generatedby highdiversity and severity ofdemandsand operating conditions imposed on structural elements involvedintheadvanced technology. In order to beable to survive andful?ll theirmission inthe extreme environmental conditions inwhich they operate, new materialsand new structural paradigms are required. The new exotic structures have to provide higher performances, unatta- able bytheclassical structures builtof traditional materials. Theadvent of advanced composite materials, of smart materialsandfunctionally graded - terials (FGMs), have constituted the strongest stimuli for suchdevelopments. Moreover, their incorporation is likely to expand the use and capabilities of thin-walledbeam structures. Thenew and stringent requirements imposed on aeronautical/aerospace, turbomachinery and shaft structural systems will be best met by such new types of material structures.
From the reviews: "The book of Librescu and Song is a monograph devoted to the theory of composite anisotropic thin-walled beams ... . The monograph can be recommended to research engineers in applied mechanics and in application areas of aeronautical and aerospace, of mechanical, civil, and naval engineering, but also to graduate students and lecturers. ... enables the reader to get an excellent overview and a deep insight in the thin walled anisotropic beam theory." (Johannes Altenbach, Zeitschrift für Angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik, Vol. 86 (8), 2006) "This monograph is concerned with linear and nonlinear theories of composite thin-walled beams, developed by the authors and their collaborators. ... The material of the book is well presented. ... The book will be of interest to all those working in the field of thin-walled structures. Specifically, graduate students in mechanical and aerospace engineering and applied mathematics as well as practicing engineers will find new and important results in this book." (Teodor Atanackovic, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1108 (9), 2007)