This paper describes in detail a series of rests conducted on carbon compos
ite beam specimens with a cross-ply lay-up in a three-point bend configurat
ion. The results are presented in terms of force and deflection to failure
as well as high-speed photography. The statistical variability of the data
is considered and compared to results from the literature. (C) 2000 Elsevie
r Science Ltd. All rights reserved.