Book excerpt: Composites Evaluation contains the proceedings of the Second International Conference on Testing, Evaluation and Quality Control of Composites-TEQC 87, held at the University of Surrey, UK on September 22-24, 1987. The papers review the physical and chemical properties of composites and the testing and evaluation of these materials. This monograph is comprised of 29 chapters split into nine sections, organized around the themes of nondestructive testing, fatigue testing, impact testing, processing-property relationships, acoustic emission, fracture, mechanical tests, and specialized test equipment and assessment of in-service behavior. The first chapter deals with the nondestructive testing of welds in continuous carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastics, while the second focuses on the use of an automated coin-tap technique for the nondestructive testing of composite structures. The chapters that follow explore hysteresis measurement for obtaining characteristic quantities during dynamic fatigue; real-time recording of impact experiments on composite laminates; the use of statistical methods for determining design data for advanced composite materials; and the strain dependence of elastic modulus in unidirectional composites. The final chapter describes a methodical approach for studying and predicting polymer fiber composite serviceability influenced by cold climate factors. This text will appeal to mechanical and structural engineers as well as materials scientists and technologists.