This book is about the processing, microstructure and properties of materials in fibrous form. The range of fibrous materials covered spans natural polymeric fibres such as silk, synthetic polymeric fibres such as aramid and polyethylene, metallic fibres such as steel and tungsten, and ceramic fibres such as alumina and silicon carbide. The author explains the fundamentals in a clear and concise manner and describes important advances in the production and control of microstructure in high stiffness and high strength fibres. The text contains large numbers of diagrams and micrographs to bring home to the reader the important principles and concepts. The book will be of value to senior undergraduates, beginning graduate students and researchers in the fields of materials science and engineering, metallurgy, ceramics, textile physics and engineering, mechanical engineering and chemical engineering.

‘This books’s strength lies in its diversity. It covers the whole range of fibrous materials - polymeric, metallic, ceramic, glass and carbon, along with natural fibres of animal, vegetable and mineral origin … An organised and well-presented book, it could form the core text of a stimulating senior course or thought provoking reading for a wide range of researchers.’

D. W. Hewak Source: Chemistry in Britain

‘Krishan Chawla has the happy knack of picking the right topic at the right time … This new book, Fibrous Materials, deals exclusively with the nature of the reinforcing fibres themselves - i.e. their processing and properties - without reference to either the matrix material, within which they sit, or the interface, through which they import their desirable properties … to the composite material as a whole. It will interest all those working in fields related to composite materials science and technology.’

Stephen Ogin Source: The Times Higher Education Supplement