BASIC COMPOSITE BEAM SET - FOR BEAM APPARATUS
Composite materials with specific properties are common in many industries such as aerospace, automotive, sports and civil engineering. Fibre-reinforced composite materials are lightweight, stiff and strong. They have good fatigue and impact resistance. Their properties can be tailored to match the specific needs of end users by changing constituent material types and manufacturing parameters such as tow, weave type, resin or manufacturing method.
For carbon composite materials, a variety of carbon fibre architectures can be obtained by using two- (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) fabric production techniques such as weaving, knitting, braiding, stitching, and nonwoven methods. Each fibre architecture/textile form results in a specifi c confi guration of mechanical and performance properties of the resulting composites and determines the end use possibilities.
The beams in the Basic Composite Beam Set have been designed to introduce students to the properties of composite beams and their construction.

The beam types included in the basic kits are:
• Unidirectional tape 0° aligned
• Unidirectional tape alternating 0° and 90° aligned
• Unidirectional tape alternating ± 45°
• Full woven fabric
All beams are bonded with epoxy resin.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
• Introduction to carbon composites
• Benefits of composite beams
• Determination of flexural rigidity and Young’s modulus
• Comparison of different construction options
• Comparison of carbon composites with steel beams of the same cross section
• Deflection of carbon composite beams