A T-shaped specimen for the direct characterization of orthotropic materials

This paper deals with the de nition of a new test specimen geometry for the direct measurement of the four in-plane sti ness components of orthotropic materials. The technique is based on a suitable use of the principle of virtual work. The choice and application of four di erent types of virtual kinematic elds leads to a system of equations that links the four sti ness components to the global force applied and geometry parameters. A numerical simulation based on nite element modelling is used to validate the approach. The stability of the process is also demonstrate