MECHANICAL BENDING BEHAVIOR OF COMPOSITE T-BEAMS

A study of the design and mechanical behaviour of co-cured T-beams subjected to very high loading is presented. The T-beams were made by press moulding from pre-pregs of uni-directional glass or carbon fibre and glass fabric reinforced high performant epoxy matrix. Each type of beam was instrumented with strain gauges in the web and flange in order to carry out experimental four point bending tests. Analytical and numerical studies were also performed to compare experimental versus numerical and analytical results and to establish the suitability of a simplified bending theory for statically determinate composite beams constructed from laminated composite panels. The maximum carrying loads in the beam layers were evaluated experimentally and analytically using the Tsai-Wu failure criterion. Results showing the suitability of the simplified beam theory are presented and discussed.