This test method is designed to produce shear property data for material specifications, research and development, quality assurance, and structural design and analysis. Either in-plane or interlaminar shear properties may be evaluated, depending upon the orientation of the material coordinate system relative to the loading axis. Factors that influence the shear response and should therefore be reported include the following: material, methods of material preparation and lay-up, specimen stacking sequence, specimen preparation, specimen conditioning, environment of testing, specimen alignment and gripping, speed of testing, time at temperature, void content, and volume percent reinforcement.

In anisotropic materials, properties may be obtained in any of the six possible shear planes by orienting the testing plane of the specimen with the desired material plane (1-2 or 2-1, 1-3 or 3-1, 2-3 or 3-2). Only a single shear plane may be evaluated for any given specimen. Properties, in the test direction, which may be obtained from this test method, include the following:

5.2.1 Shear stress/strain response,

5.2.2 Ultimate strength,

5.2.3 Ultimate strain,

5.2.4 Shear chord modulus of elasticity, and

5.2.5 Transition strain.

1.1 This test method covers the shear properties of composite materials reinforced by high-modulus fibers. The composite materials are limited to continuous-fiber or discontinuous-fiber-reinforced composites in the following material forms:

1.1.1 Laminates composed only of unidirectional fibrous laminae, with the fiber direction oriented either parallel or perpendicular to the loading axis.

1.1.2 Laminates composed only of woven fabric filamentary laminae with the warp direction oriented either parallel or perpendicular to the loading axis.

1.1.3 Laminates composed only of unidirectional fibrous laminae, containing equal numbers of plies oriented at 0 and 90 in a balanced and symmetric stacking sequence, with the 0 direction oriented either parallel or perpendicular to the loading axis.

1.1.4 Short-fiber-reinforced composites with a majority of the fibers being randomly distributed.

This shear test concept was originally developed without reference to fiber direction for use on isotropic materials such as metals or ceramics.

1.2 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units are to be regarded separately as standard. Within the text the inch-pound units are shown in brackets. The values stated in each system are not exact equivalents; therefore, each system must be used independently of the other. Combining values from the two systems may result in nonconformance with the standard.

This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.