Experimental study on the effect of eccentric compressive load on the stability and load-carrying capacity of thin-walled composite profiles

Abstract

This paper relates to an experimental study on the compression of thin-walled composite profiles with open cross-sectional shapes and a symmetric layup. The primary objective of the study was to determine the effect of eccentric compressive load on the stability and load-carrying capacity of the analysed profiles. The study investigated the effect of laminate layup and cross-sectional shape on the buckling load, postbuckling equilibrium path and failure load of the structures under compression. The experiments were performed on samples of short columns made of CFRP by autoclaving. Real composite structures were subjected to compression until failure; test parameters were measured in order to determine post-buckling equilibrium paths for the full range of loading conditions. The initiation of composite material damage was assessed by acoustic emission. The employed research methods made it possible to examine the problems of nonlinear stability and load-carrying capacity of the compressed structures.