A study of the design and mechanical behaviour of co-cured T-beams sub
jected to lateral loading on the web is presented. The T-beams were ma
nufactured by press moulding from pre-pregs of uni-directional and fab
ric glass reinforced high performance epoxy matrix. A special fixture
was designed in order to carry out tests where the T-beams were latera
lly loaded on the web and clamped on the flange. Analytical and numeri
cal studies were performed to predict the failure load to compare with
the experimental results. The multilayer anisotropic continuum theory
for delamination analysis of curved beams subjected to end moments an
d forces was used to compute the delamination stresses in the quarter
cylindrical beam of the junction between the flange and the web. Finit
e element analyses of the T-beams were performed using plate/shell ele
ments and two models were used for the joining between web and flange,
to compute the planar stresses in the beam. The scatter obtained in t
he experimental results can be explained by the presence of two failur
e modes: one due to delamination associated with the through the thick
ness stresses developed in the curved part of the beam, the other rela
ted with failure occurring due to tangential stresses in the most high
ly stressed plies.