Abstract
The objective of this work is to investigate the mechanical properties of [0](8) woven glass fiber reinforced polyester (GFRP) composites under monotonic and combined tension/bending loading. The results show that the failure of combined test specimen was at its ends, which have zero deflection and maximum bending moment and stress. This behavior agrees with the analytical stress distribution along the specimen length. Adding a tensile load at the ends of woven composite beams that designed to carry pure bending loads, such as bridge decks, can duplicate bending capacity of the beam. The relationship between combined bending moment and tensile load was constructed.