Damage Mechanisms of Hat-Shaped GRP Beams

In this study, the behaviour of hat-shaped glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) composite beams was investigated experimentally and numerically to predict the effect of different material composition on: • Flexural stiffness of the beams • Ultimate collapse strength of beams • Failure mechanisms of the beams The materials used in this study were chopped strand mat (CSM) in different weight e.g., 600, 450 and 225 g/m2 and 1600 g/m2 unidirectional (UD) glass fibre, 600 g/m2 woven rowing (WR) and 600 g/m2 biaxial [±45°] with polyester resin (isopthalic and orthopthalic) and polyurethane (PU) foam. Two types of top hat composite beam have been tested under four-point bending loads. The finite element predictions were compared with the test data and good agreement was obtained.