The bending buckling test is often preferred to the classical 3-points or 4
-points bending for the characterisation of damage in composite materials.
Its analysis however requires a precise mechanical interpretation based on
the classical post-buckling analysis. This interpretation is presented and
discussed. Some applications are then presented, leading to the definition
of a global bending damage variable and the description of its evolution fo
r some unidirectional and layered composites.