INTRODUCTION
------------
This is the readme file for version 1.3.3 of the 'lamprop' program,
released on 2010-11-12.

The purpose of this program is to calculate some properties of
fiber-reinforced composite laminates. It calculates
- engineering properties like Ex, Ey, Gxy
- thermal properties CTE_x and CTE_y
- physical properties like density and laminate thickness
- stiffness and compliance matrices (ABD and abd)

Although these properties are not very difficult to calculate, (the relevant
equations and formulas can be readily found in the available composite
literature) the calculation is time-consuming and error-prone when done by
hand.

This program deals only with composites consisting of layers of
unidirectional fibers, as does the underlying theory. Woven or stiched
fabrics should be represented as two or more unidirectional layers.

This program can _not_ calculate the strength of composite laminates;
because there are many different failure modes, strengths of composite
laminates cannot readily be calculated from the strengths of the separate
materials that form the laminate. These strengths have to be determined
from tests.

The program has options for producing LaTeX and HTML output.

A test case is included in the 'test' subdirectory.

LICENSE
-------
See the LICENSE file.

BUILDING THE PROGRAM
--------------------
For building on FreeBSD, Linux and other systems with the GNU toolset
(including the cygnus tools on windows, I guess), see the instructions in
the file INSTALL.

FreeBSD uses can install this program from ports (science/lamprop).

I have set up a cross-compiler to produce a win32 binary. You can find it
in the file lamprop-1.3.3.zip on my website;
http://www.xs4all.nl/~rsmith/software/.

If anyone wants to donate makefiles or project files for other systems and
compilers I will be happy to include them in the distribution.

FEEDBACK
--------
This program was written by Roland Smith.

If you have caught a bug, or if you have thought of a feature that you
think should be added, by all means report it or (even better :-) send a
patch.

You can reach me at the following addresses:

    e-mail: rsmith@xs4all.nl      (preferred)
            R.Smith@philips.com   (alternative)
