Strain rate-dependent characterization of carbon fibre-reinforced composite laminates using four-point bending tests

This research addresses the problem of accurately quantifying the strain rate effect of carbon fibre-reinforced plastics by proposing a method with a simple specimen manufacturing and experiment execution based on four-point bending tests. By easing the strain rate-dependent characterization of carbon fibre-reinforced plastics, less conservative designs can be achieved. The method proposed uses Euler–Bernoulli and Timoshenko’s beam theories to obtain the longitudinal compressive and tensile modulus, compressive strength, shear modulus, and shear yielding point. Transverse properties could not be obtained due to limitations of the fixture employed. A strain-dependent material characterization was done using the proposed method and compared to the characterization of the same material using traditional uniaxial tests. Most of the material properties obtained with different methods correlated within approximately 10%. More work needs to be done to determine how this discrepancy affects simulation results.