Book excerpt: Thanks to their low density and tailored properties, polymer matrix composites are attractive candidates for a large number of industrial applications ranging from aerospace to transportation and energy. However, the behaviour of polymer-based materials is strongly affected by a number of environmental factors. Environmental Degradation in Industrial Composites provides vital information on the effects of environmental factors such as temperature, liquid and gas exposure, electrical fields and radiations, and how micro- and micromechanical calculations during design and manufacture must take these effects into account. The book concludes with reviews on standard and specific testing methods for the various environmental factors and their combinations, helping mechanical/materials engineers and specifiers to predict possible changes due to environmental conditions. Each chapter is supplemented by industrial case studies to help in the understanding of degradation of composites in real life situations.This book will help you to...* Understand how environmental factors lead to degradation effects in polymer matrix composite structures* Build these factors into calculations when predicting the part performance and lifetime of structures* Compare real-life situations from case studies with your predicted results* Predict probable composite behaviour with greater accuracyThis book will help you to...* Understand how environmental factors lead to degradation effects in polymer matrix composite structures* Build these factors into calculations when predicting the part performance and lifetime of structures* Compare real-life situations from case studies with your predicted results* Predict probable composite behaviour with greater accuracy