3rd International Conference on Mechanics of Composites (MECHCOMP3)

The use of composite materials has grown exponentially in the last decades and has affected many engineering fields due to their enhanced mechanical properties and improved features with respect to conventional materials. For instance, they are employed in civil engineering (seismic isolators, long-span bridges, vaults), mechanical engineering (turbines, machine components), aerospace and naval engineering (fuselages, boat hulls and sails), automotive engineering (car bodies, tires), and biomechanical engineering (prostheses). Nevertheless, the greater use of composites requires a rapid progress in gaining the needed knowledge to design and manufacture composite structures. Thus, researchers and designers devote their own efforts to develop new analysis techniques, design methodologies, manufacturing procedures, micromechanics approaches, theoretical models, and numerical methods. For these purpose, it is extremely easy to find many recent journal papers, books, and technical notes, focused on the mechanics of composites. In particular, several studies are presented to take advantage of their superior features by varying some typical structural parameters (such as geometry, fiber orientations, volume fraction, structural stiffness, weight, lamination scheme). Therefore, this Conference aims to collect contributions from every part of the globe that can increase the knowledge of composite materials and their applications, by engaging researches and professional engineers and designers from different sectors. The same aims and scopes have been reached by the previous editions of Mechanics of Composites International Conferences (MECHCOMP), which occurred in 2014 at Stony Brook University (USA) and in 2016 at University of Porto (Portugal). The third edition of the Conference at University of Bologna (Italy) attracted more than 450 delegates from around the world of composites. The plenary lectures were given by Fernando Fraternali (University of Salerno, Italy), Marco Gigliotti (Université de Poitiers and Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et Aérotechnique, Poitiers, France), Salvatore Russo (IUAV University of Venice, Italy), Gaetano Giunta (Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), Luxembourg), Alberto Milazzo (University of Palermo, Italy), Christophe Bouvet (Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace (ISAE-supaéro) and Institut Clément Ader (ICA), France). The Conference Chair: Antonio J.M. Ferreira (University of Porto, Portugal), Erasmo Viola, Francesco Tornabene and Nicholas Fantuzzi (University of Bologna, Italy). The Local Organizing Committee: Michele Bacciocchi (University of Bologna, Italy).