This project provides support for collaboration between Drs. A.V. Krishna Murty and Vijay Kumar of the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India, and Dr. J.N. Reddy of the Department of Engineering Mechanics at the Virginia Institute of Technology and State University in Blacksburg. These scientists plan to continue theoretical, analytical studies on the behavior of laminated composite panels under compressive loads. Specifically, they are seeking to develop analytical tools to describe the process of delamination in such panels. These studies will be also useful in determining residual strength of these plates. The collaborative work will benefit from experimental work being done independently by the Indian team at the I.I.Sc. Scope: This project provides support to extend collaborative research currently being carried out by the same scientists under an earlier NSF grant. The work has already provided better understanding of the problem, and resulted in several joint publications. The project fits well with the objectives of the U.S.-India Cooperative Science Program.
