Shear-lag effect in CFRP I-beams under three-point bending

Shear-lag effect in CFRP (carbon-fiberreinforced plastic) I-beams is investigated by applying Reissner's method concerning box beams to CFRP I-beams. This modified beam theory (MBT) assumes that the flanges are orthotropic and includes the effect of the shearing rigidity of the web and the deformation of the flanges themselves. The anisotropy of the flanges causes the decrease of the flexural rigidity of I-beams. The decrease, however, is restrained by a preventive action on the shear-lag effect in the flanges with a decrease of the anisotropy ratio due to the selection of fiber orientation. In order to verify this MBT, I-beam structures were fabricated from carbon fiber and epoxy resin using three different lay-up schemes: unidirectional, quasi-isotropic, and a ±45-deg angle-ply. The stiffness and shear-lag effect of these I-beams were measured and compared with results from the composite beam theory and MBT. The theoretical load-deflection curves and the strain distributions agreed well with the corresponding experimental results.