This book presents the proceedings of the American Society for Composites 40th Technical Conference. This volume collects the works presented within the conference sessions titled, "NDE of Composites," “Analysis, Testing and Material Characterization,” “Fatigue in Composites,” and “Composites Repair and Effects of Defects." Particularly, the works focus on novel methods, both experimental and computational, to advance the understanding and assessment of the performance of structural designs and processing methods in a variety of loads and conditions, including impacts and fatigue. This is observed at the level of constituents, laminate or sandwich designs, and includes the use of sustainable materials. A variety of modeling approaches are presented to enhance the description of damage evolution in fatigue loading, including micromechanical, cohesive, and topological methods, as well as the interaction of ultrasonic waves with mesoscale features. The technical content presented in this Volume impacts all phases of the life cycle of composite structures, from manufacturing to in-service performance and durability, to characterization of damage. It thus proves to be a valuable resource for researchers in the field as well as engineers involved in the design and operation of composite structures.

Dr. Margherita Capriotti is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at San Diego State University. She received her Ph.D. in Structural Engineering from the University of California San Diego after graduating with her B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Parma (Italy). Before joining San Diego State University as faculty, she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Capriotti's research focuses on nondestructive evaluation techniques, mainly ultrasonic and infrared, for aerospace composite structures. She investigates thermal and elastic wave propagation for structural assessment, combining computational and experimental research.

Dr. Paul Davidson is an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington. He received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His career spans both private and public sector institutions. Before becoming a faculty member University of Texas at Arlington, Dr. Davidson was an Assistant Research Scientist at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a Post Doctoral Fellow at the University of Washington. In addition, he worked as an engineer in the Product Development and Research divisions of Visteon Global, Modine Thermal Systems, and General Electric Global Research Center. Dr. Davidson's research interests lie in the intersection of advanced computational methods, data analytics, and inspection methods with applications in advanced manufacturing, in-service maintenance, and aviation safety. Experimental, computational, and theoretical mechanics form the basis for many research activities.

Dr. John Wertz is an Aerospace Research Engineer in the Material State Awareness Branch of the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate at Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). He received his BS in Aerospace Engineering from The University of Arizona in 2008, followed by MS and PhD degrees in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from The Ohio State University in 2010 and 2013, respectively. Within AFRL, he leads work on ultrasonic testing, NDE data fusion, and development of integrated sensing technologies. He currently serves as the Program Chair of the American Society for Nondestructive Testing Research Symposium; a scientific committee member for the European Conference on Nondestructive Testing; and an industrial advisory board member for the University of Arizona’s Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering program.