Direct Measurement of Invariant Mechanical Parameters of Composite Plates

Abstract

This paper deals with the direct measurement of invariant parameters describing the intrinsic elastic response of anisotropic composite plates in bending. Theoretical results giving the link between the unknown parameters and the strain field on the top surface of a plate subjected to two different bending tests are given first. The experimental setup is then described. The invariant nature of the measured parameters is finally verified through an example. As a conclusion, it is shown that the invariant combinations of anisotropic plates compliances can be directly measured using a suitable strategy.