Abstract
Fiber-reinforced polymeric composite materials present an orthotropic distribution of their mechanical and elastic characteristics. This behaviour is mainly due to the fact that the fabric used behaves differently under the same type of stress, on different directions. The procedure described by our paper enables researchers to determine the elastic modulus of such materials, on three different directions, using a specially designed specimen. The finite element analysis revealed that there were no significant influences on the strains and deformations existing in the measurement area, concerning the shape of the test specimen or its fastening. The results obtained for three composite materials used to validate the procedure showed that two of the materials having orthotropic properties, exhibit different elastic modulus. Keywords: polymeric composite, deformations, octagonal specimen, orthotropy, elastic characteristics