Testing and characterization of pultruded glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) beams

Elastic properties of the fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite represent a significant effect on the structural behaviour of this material. Therefore, it is important to use an accurate method to determine these properties as the behaviour is often governed by deflection rather than strength. In this study, full size pultruded glass FRP (GFRP) beams were used to determine the elastic properties using static four-point bending with different shear span to depth (a/d) ratios. Two different methods -back calculation and simultaneous - were then employed to evaluate the flexural modulus and shear stiffness and were compared with the results of the test using coupon specimens. The results indicate that the elastic properties determined from full scale test using back calculation method can reliably predict the load - deflection behaviour of the pultruded GFRP beams