Evaluation of Bending Test Methods for Composite Materials

Abstract

The present study is an evaluation of the applicability of bending test methods to composite materials. The evaluation is based on examining the effect of the material, using three different reinforcing fibers, and on comparing between two loading configurations, namely, three-point versus four-point loading. It is shown that the results depend on the combination of fracture mechanism comprising each failure mode, and that reliable values of either the shear or the tensile/compressive stresses can be obtained only if the contributions of those mechanisms are accounted for.