Creep and creep buckling of pultruded glass-reinforced polymer members

This paper presents the results of an experimental program investigating flexural creep and creep buckling behavior of pultruded glass fiber reinforce polymer (pGFRP) plate specimens. In this study (a) short-term material properties were determined; (b) 1000 h flexural creep tests at three load levels were conducted from which Findley power law parameters describing creep strain behavior were obtained; (c) creep buckling tests of slender concentrically loaded specimens were conducted; and (d) results from the buckling tests were compared with the predictions of the Findley power law which is shown to predict results reasonably well. Provided the flexural creep tests have relatively small loads and sufficient duration to pass through the primary creep stage of the material, reliable creep parameters were established. The intent of this study is to demonstrate a framework for establishing creep behavior and creep buckling performance of pGFRP materials.