THE MECHANICS OF PLASTIC-ALUMINUM COMPOSITE I-BEAMSThis thesis presents an initial investigation of the mechanics of I-beams developed with plasticaluminum composite technology. Plastic-aluminum composites in structural beam/frame/truss elements are a relatively new concept that has seen little, if any, application in modern construction. This technology has considerable potential to add innovative choices to the array of materials currently available in the construction industry. Several new tests were designed and performed on different portions of the beams, including Push-Through and Knit-Line Pull tests, and tensile tests per ASTM D638-10. The results of these tests showed increased strength with an increase of talc filler content and also showed that the addition of a metal deactivator additive to the plastic results in a slight increase in strength. Duration of Load tests were performed per ASTM D7031-04 and none of the beams tested exhibit tertiary creep. The I-beams investigated here use an internal shear connector (deboss) which acts as a mechanical fastener between the aluminum and the flange plastic. A numerical finite element model was developed in ABAQUS to better understand the underlying physics of the deboss and was compared with a PushThrough test specimen. The results from the model closely match experimental results and the model can be used to predict within 10% the load per deboss region that can be resisted before the plastic begins to yield and extensively deform. This model can be used for differing deboss geometries and any plastic with known material properties. Overall, the results of this research support potential future research involving a more in-depth investigation of this innovative, new class of material technology for use as a structural material.iii The goal of composite materials is to optimize desired properties from different constituent materials. In doing so, a part or structural component is created that outperforms each of the constituents individually, and possibly even better than the simple addition of each constituent's properties. Conservation of materials is important to economic and sustainability considerations.Utilizing composite technology, one can develop a part or structural component out of composite materials with less material consumption, yet still providing the same strength as a noncomposite counterpart. When considering composites made from plastic and aluminum, the goal is to combine the low density and moldability of plastic with the high stiffness, high strength, and relative light weight of aluminum. Plastic-aluminum composite material technology has considerable potential to add innovative choices to the array of materials currently available in the construction industry. This thesis presents research that has been conducted to investigate the properties of I-beams constructed with this technology.The plastic-aluminum composite I-beam technology studied here was developed by Tegracore, who were also collaborators with the testing w...