NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF FIBER REINFORCED COMPOSITE BEAM

Resumo

Composite materials have advantages like their lightness and strength that make them
attractive for purposes in engineering. This paper describes a thin-walled square composite beam
subjected to three-point bending test. Computational and experimental models are studied for this beam
using carbon fiber as composite material. It is also explored ways to make it as light as possible,
supporting a minimum pre-established load. Using ANSYS® Composite PrepPost it is possible to
defined layers, thicknesses and orientations for the studied layered composite structures. Then, structural
analysis of the geometric model defined is performed with the aid of ANSYS® Mechanical. Numerical
results obtained are compared with experimental models produced in laboratory. The beam is made of
carbon fiber and epoxy resin by the application of vacuum bagging process after the hand lay-up
lamination and post-curing at high temperature. This work is part of the researches of an undergraduate
engineering program that aims to study composites, specially for civil and mechanical engineering, in
order to analyze their main features using computational tools and experiments.