ISSN: 0090-3973
Page Count: 8

Experimental Assessment of Four Composite Material Shear Test Methods

Adams, DF
Composite Materials Research Group, University of Wyoming,WY,

Lewis, EQ
Composite Materials Research Group, University of Wyoming,WY,

(Received 22 April 1996; accepted 5 August 1996)

Abstract

Four ASTM standard shear test methods for characterizing composite materials were experimentally investigated: the short beam shear (ASTM D 2344), Iosipescu shear (ASTM D 5379), axial tension of a [±45]^ns laminate (ASTM D 3518), and two-rail shear (ASTM D 4255). Six composite material systems were utilized: two thermoset matrix composites; S2 glass/3501-6 epoxy and AS4 carbon/3501-6 epoxy; and four thermoplastic matrix composites, S2 glass/polyetherketoneketone (PEKK), AS4 carbon/PEKK, E-glass/J2 polyamide and AS4 carbon/J2 polyamide.

The results obtained for both shear strength and shear modulus indicate that the various methods each have limitations and inherent inaccuracies, with no one method being clearly superior to the others in all aspects. However, the Iosipescu shear test method does exhibit a number of particularly favorable characteristics.

Keywords:
shear tests, shear strength, shear modulus, Iosipescu, short beam, rail shear, ±45° tensile shear, glass/epoxy, carbon/epoxy, glass/polyetherketoneketone carbon/polyetherketoneketone, glass/polyamide, carbon/polyamide

Paper ID: JTE11475J
DOI: 10.1520/JTE11475J
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