Concentric and eccentric compression tests on PFRP equal angles

Presented in this paper are the results of an investigation pertaining to the loss in axial capacity due to the effect of eccentric loading upon equal angle sections made of pultruded FRP. A total of 17 specimens with slenderness ratios ranging from 8 to 22 were tested vertically with the axial compression being applied either concentrically as a spread load over the entire cross sectional area or eccentrically as a spread load over a single leg of the section. For each strut the buckling load, lateral displacements and mode of failure were documented during the course of this investigation. Observed failure modes include flexural buckling about the minor axis, flexural-torsional buckling about the major and longitudinal axes or a combination of the two modes. Analysis of the buckling loads reveals that the influence of eccentricity is less significant for struts with higher slenderness ratios failing through flexural buckling than those failing through flexural-torsional buckling.