ABSTRACT
FRP composite components subjected to transverse loading induce flexure and shear force, typically. The transverse loading does induce geometric nonlinearities if the span-to-depth ratio is very large, say 50 or above, especially regarding glass fiber-reinforced polymer composites. From the flexural behavior viewpoint, a component (e.g., flange of a beam) resists tension on one face and compression on the opposite face. If the compression face is adequately restrained from buckling which is typical in practice, then the component stability need not be evaluated, and the design checks would focus on flexure-induced stresses, deflections, and rotations. Unlike in the design of steel sections, design checks for deformations must include the shear-related influences due to very low shear modulus in relation to bending (flexure) modulus, which is of the order of 10%–15% of bending modulus. Shear deformation can be as high as 18%–20% of flexural deformations in FRP composite components while this value is no more than 3% in steel under normal design criteria. In addition, stress concentration influences from the corner effects are incorporated in the stress computations, to establish realistic strength limit states from a design viewpoint.
