Abstract
In this paper, a simple accurate equation to determine the local buckling critical stress of pultruded GFRP I-sections is developed. To assess the proposed expression, an experimental program comprising cross-sectional geometry measurement, material characterization, and compression tests on stub columns were carried out. Stubs having different flange-width-to-section-depth ratios extracted from and sections made with vinyl ester and polyester matrices were tested. The proposed expression is compared with experimental results, as well as results from numerical analyses using the finite-strip method (FSM). Finally, examples are presented and critical stresses are compared to those obtained based on other comparable research and by current design guidelines, demonstrating that the latter lead to conservative results.
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Acknowledgments
All testing was conducted in the Watkins-Haggart Structural Engineering Laboratory (WHSEL) at the University of Pittsburgh. The authors gratefully acknowledge Bedford Reinforced Plastics for providing the pultruded sections. The first author also acknowledges the financial support of CAPES (Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior) through scholarship 8680/11-6.
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Published In
Journal of Composites for Construction
Volume 19 • Issue 2 • April 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 17, 2013
Accepted: Jun 11, 2014
Published online: Aug 4, 2014
Discussion open until: Jan 4, 2015
Published in print: Apr 1, 2015
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