Four point bend fixtures were designed and manufactured. The wheel grips are designed to hold the specimen with minimal constrain to ovalization effects while providing enough area to distribute the load. In addition, the grips are free to rotate, allowing for lateral movement of the specimen as the curvature increases.

Four point flexure tests were performed on composite tubes to experimentally determine moment-curvature relationships for varying constituent materials, lay-ups, and wall thickness. The specimens tested were provided by Hydril, Inc. Results and data that were analyzed are contained in 2 conference publications at OMAE July 2002 and at ASC in October 2002. These publications will not be available on the MMS web page.