EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON INTERLAMINAR FRACTURE BEHAVIOR OF PULTRUDED FIBER-POLYMER COMPOSITES

This paper aims to provide interlaminar fracture mechanics data for pultruded glass fiber-polymer materials, extracted from a composite bridge deck system. Both Modes I and II were investigated, through the adaptation of classical fracture mechanics tests to pultruded specimens. In all, nine data reduction methods were used to determine the Strain Energy Release Rate (SERR) in both Modes and, apart from the Compliance Calibration and Simple Beam Theory methods recommended by current standards, exhibited good agreement between themselves.