ABSTRACT
A shear test of a composite material is performed to determine the shear modulus or shear strength, or both. Ideally, both properties can be determined from the same test, but this is not always the case. In addition, the shear response of a composite material is commonly nonlinear, and full characterization thus requires generating the entire shear stress-strain curve to failure. However, many shear test methods are not capable of generating the entire curve, and sometimes not even a portion of it. Figure 7.1 defines the in-plane shear stress,
τ
(and
τ
) and shear strain,
γ
(and
γ
). The other shear stress and strain components are defined accordingly. The in-plane shear modulus is denoted by G
, and the shear strength by S
. Additional definitions and notation are presented in Chapter 2.
