Information on the most widely used ASTM standards within the materials testing industry
ASTM D4255
Rail Shear Test fixture are described as Method B in ASTM Standard D4255, mainly used to measure the polymer mechanical strength.
The specimen is 6 in. long and 5 3/8 in. wide, and of the desired thickness.
Details of specimen preparation and installation, and a complete test procedure, are included in ASTM Standard D4255. This standard also includes the two-rail shear test method, as Method A, this fixture also being available from Wyoming Test Fixtures, Inc. The two-rail version has the advantage of utilizing a smaller specimen, with only six rather than nine holes to prepare. However, the three-rail version is attractive because it loads the specimen symmetrically.
General introduction
Rail Shear Test fixture are described as Method B in ASTM Standard D4255, mainly used to measure the polymer mechanical strength.
The specimen is 6 in. long and 5 3/8 in. wide, and of the desired thickness.
Details of specimen preparation and installation, and a complete test procedure, are included in ASTM Standard D4255. This standard also includes the two-rail shear test method, as Method A, this fixture also being available from Wyoming Test Fixtures, Inc. The two-rail version has the advantage of utilizing a smaller specimen, with only six rather than nine holes to prepare. However, the three-rail version is attractive because it loads the specimen symmetrically.
![]() | ![]() |
These
shear tests are designed to produce in-plane shear property data for
material specifications, research and development, and design.
Factors
that influence the shear response and should therefore be reported
include: 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 fiber volume
reinforcement content.
Properties that may be measured by this test method include:
In-plane shear stress versus engineering shear strain response,
In-plane shear chord modulus of elasticity,
Offset shear stress, and
Maximum in-plane shear stress.
In
cases in which the engineering shear strain at failure is greater than
5 %, the shear stress corresponding to 5 % engineering shear strain
should be reported.
Standard
ASTM D4255 Standard Test Method for In-Plane Shear Properties of Polymer Matrix Composite Materials by the Rail Shear Method
ASTM D4255 is a test method for testing the in-plane shear properties of high-modulus fiber-reinforced composite materials. The method is divided into two procedures. Procedure A tests laminates clamped between two pairs of loading rails. When loaded in tension the rails introduce shear forces in the specimen. In Procedure B, laminates clamped on opposite edges with a tensile or compressive force applied to a third pair of rails in the center are tested.
ASTM D4027 Standard Test Method for Measuring Shear Properties of Structural Adhesives by the Modified-Rail Test
ASTM D4027 defines how to measure the shear modulus and shear strength of an adhesive layer sandwiched between two rigid adherends, using a purpose-built modified-rail shear tool.
Require More Customized Solutions?