Stephen W. Tsai

Stephen W. Tsai (* 1929 ) is an American engineer.

Life

Tsai graduated from Yale University in 1952 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering with a Bachelor of Engineering (B. Eng.). In 1961 he received his PhD from Yale University as a Doctor of Engineering (D. Eng.) . He worked at the following institutions:

from 1961 to 1966 at Ford Motor Company
from 1966 to 1968 at Washington University
from 1968 to 1990 at the Air Force Materials Laboratory (AFML) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio

In 1990 he became a professor at Stanford University in the faculty “Aeronautics and Astronautics” and has since retired (Professor Research Emeritus). Since 1995 he has been a member of the US National Academy of Engineering . He is the founding editor of the Journal of Composite Materials .

research

In research, Tsai, together with Edward M. Wu, stands today for the most widely used strength criterion for fiber-plastic composites , known as the Tsai-Wu criterion for short . It is implemented in the majority of all calculation programs available worldwide for component design with these materials. One advantage is the mathematically simple polynomial formulation of the criterion and the possibility of adapting the criterion to different test results. However, it is disadvantageous that it is not possible to differentiate between the basic failure types fiber breakage (Fb) and inter-fiber breakage (Zfb), despite some interpretations in the literature. The interaction coefficient and the overestimation of the compressive strength also cause difficulties . ${\ displaystyle F_ {12} ^ {*}}$

A comparison with other strength criteria for fiber-plastic composites can be found in the extensive "World-Wide Failure Exercise".

Tsai has also made a name for himself by writing books on the basics of fiber-plastic composites .

Publications, books and articles

A General Theory of Strength for Anisotropic Materials . In: Journal of Composite Materials. Vol. 5, No. 1, (1971), pp. 58-80.
Composites design . Think Composites, Dayton 1985, OCLC 12176111 .
Introduction to Composite Materials . with H. Thomas Hahn. Technomic Publishing Co., Lancaster 1980, ISBN 0-87762-288-4 .
Theory of Composites Design . Think Composites, Dayton 1992, ISBN 0-9618090-3-5 .
Kuo-Shih Liu, Stephen W. Tsai: A progressive quadratic failure criterion for a laminate. In: MJ Hinton, AS Kaddour, PD Soden (Eds.): Failure Criteria In Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites: The World-Wide Failure Exercise. Elsevier, Amsterdam et al. 2004, ISBN 0-08-044475-X .

Individual evidence

↑ Tsai, Stephen W., 1929- In: Library of Congress.

personal data
SURNAME	Tsai, Stephen W.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American engineer
DATE OF BIRTH	1929

[1] Tsai, Stephen W., 1929- In: Library of Congress.