Mechanical behavior of thick composite tubes under four-point bending

Abstract

This paper presents the behavior of thick thermoplastic composite tubes made by an automated fiber placement machine, and subjected to four-point bending load. The mechanical behavior includes flexural stiffness, and strains. Methods for the determination of these behaviors include strength of material, analytical solution, finite element method and experimental measurement. The correlation between the different methods provides validation of some methods and indication of the degree of accuracy of some other methods. The accuracy of some calculating methods provides the ability to predict the performance of other thick composite tubes subjected to similar loading and support conditions.