I express my sincere gratitude to NATO Science Committee for granting me the financial award to organize and direct the Advanced Research Workshop on "MULTILAYERED and FIBRE-REINFORCED COMPOSITES: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS" that was held in Kiev, Ukraine, during the period of June 2 - 6, 1997, in collaboration with Professor S. A. Firstov of the Frantsevich Institute for Problems of Materials Science, National Academy of Sciences, Kiev, Ukraine. In this context I wish to convey special thanks to Dr. J. A. Raussell-Colom, NATO Programme Director for Priority Area on High Technology, for his kind efforts and continuous guidance in the course of organizing the Workshop. I appreciate sincerely the opportunity of working closely with Professor Firstov and acknowledge with deep gratitude his outstanding contribution in co-directing the Workshop. I wish to express my special thanks to Dr. N. Orlovskaya of the Frantsevich Institute, for her outstanding contribution towards both the organization and conduct of the Workshop. I wish to convey my sincere thanks to Professor V. V. Skorohord, Deputy Director of the Frantsevich Institute, on behalf of the same Institute, for hosting the Workshop and welcoming the participants to l{iev. The very kind efforts of the members of the Scientific Advisory Committee, the Local Organizing Committee and the Staff of the Frantsevich Institute towards the organization and conduct of the Workshop, are gratefully appreciated. I convey my full indebtedness to all researchers who participated in the Workshop.

Inhalt
1: Micromechanics and Local Deformation Effects.- Use of composites in infrastructure.- Principles and approaches of advanced experimental mechanics in service of modern technology.- Actual three-dimensional stresses in composite structures and in local effects in homogeneous structures. Case studies.- Strain path effect on debonding and non-linear constitutive model for rigid particles reinforced metal/ceramic matrix composite.- On the stochastic micromechanical approach to the response behaviour of engineering materials.- Higher-order micro-macrostructural theory for the analysis of functionally graded materials.- Indirect determination of mechanical properties of reinforcement in fibrous polymeric composites.- The modification of hydrodynamic model of Alekseevskii-Tate for multylayered and gradient plates.- The application of self-consistent approaches to modeling mechanical behaviour of heterogeneous two phase solids.- On the behaviour of materials with binary microstructures.- 2: Ceramic Matrix Composites.- Titanium-matrix composites in comparison with ceramic ones.- Fracture characteristics of layered and nano-particle reinforced Si3N4.- Rising fracture resistance of whisker-reinforced alumina and silicon nitride.- Formation of carbon coatings on carbide fibers and particles by disproportionation reactions.- Problems of the determination of the mechanical properties of endless-fibre reinforced ceramic composites.- Ceramic matrix composites; microstructure and thermostructural performance limits.- Elastic modulus in rigid Al2O3/ZrO2 ceramic laminates.- Processing of multilayered Si3N4-TiN hot-pressed ceramic composites.- Effect of residual stresses on the mechanical response of continuous fibre reinforced ceramic matrix composites.- Electrically conductive ceramiccomposites.- Chemical modification of carbon materials.- Novel oxide fibres to reinforce metal, intermetallic and ceramic matrices.- A new class of in-situ fiber reinforced boride composite ceramic materials.- Toughening by pores.- Threadlike single crystals of transition metals borides.- Modelling of thermal residual stresses in ceramic coatings with a graded composite interlayer.- Fiber reinforced oxide ceramic matrix composites.- Residual stresses in PVD/Plasma sprayed thermal barrier multilayered coatings at high temperature.- Review on advanced research on ceramic materials in Ukraine.- 3: Metal Matrix and Polymeric Matrix Composites.- Metal/metal laminates with controlled macrostructure: Problems and prospects.- The electrodynamic properties of fiber composites.- Multiaxial three-dimensional (3-D) circular weaving and multiaxial 3-D circular woven preforms for composite.- Analysis of filament wound tubes against torsion.- On non-linear response of polyester tanks: Comparison of experimental and numerical results.- The inspection of mechanical and microstructural properties of polymer matrix composites.- Oscillations and stability of viscoelastic systems, subjected to random stationary loads.- Thermo-mechanical behavior of polymer composites.- A review on composite material failures.