Identification of the Short-Term Full-Section Moduli of Pultruded FRP Profiles Using Bending Tests

Three-point and four-point bending tests are traditionally used to estimate the shear and flexural properties of pultruded fiber-reinforced plastic (PFRP) structural shapes. In the framework of Timoshenko's beam model, the rigidities of beams can simply be obtained from linear combinations of the experimental deflections. However, several measurement uncertainties may affect the parameter identification. To analyze this drawback, a new test configuration was compared with the common three-point and four-point bending test configurations through an extensive experimental program concerning wide-flange commercial profiles. A parametric study was conducted by varying the span length, and, in the case of the four-point bending tests, the relative position of the applied loads. The influence of the load and deflection measurement errors was analyzed and proper uncertainty bands were provided for the computed rigidities. (C) 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.