Shear Properties of Pultruded Glass FRP Materials

Abstract

The in‐plane shear modulus and the in‐plane shear strength of pultruded glass fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) materials were measured using the Iosipescu shear test method. Material specimens, in coupon form, were cut from the webs and flanges of commercially produced polyester and vinylester wide‐flange pultruded beams. The experimental testing procedure is described, and data reduction methods needed to define the shear modulus and the shear strength from the nonlinear stress‐strain curves are discussed. A new method to obtain the in‐plane shear modulus directly from load‐displacement data is proposed. Shear modulus predictions using the proposed method are compared with those obtained from the stress‐strain data.