Mechanical behavior of three-point bending for unidirectional glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) box beams

Civil infrastructures bear the vital responsibilities for public safety and resources. The design process determines the quality in terms of economic and applicability. The choice of material plays a major role in the process. The traditional construction materials such as steel, concrete, and wood are still the primary choices while fiber-reinforced composite material is gaining recognition and reputation in its unique material properties. However its mechanical behaviors are rather unpredictable. In order to be more specifically modeling the composite material, a box-section beam is tested using three-point bending method. A set of four different widths of mid-contact area is designed to test the composite material. The load and deflection information is recorded as well as the material failure conditions.; The force, deflection, and pressure at material failure are plotted for each contact width to observe the mechanical behaviors. The average longest crack length for each contact width is also recorded to observe the material ultimate failure zone conditions.