  The mechanical response of embedded ABA trilayer graphene flakes loaded in
tension and compression on polymer beams is monitored by simultaneous Raman
measurements through the strain sensitivity of the G or 2D peaks. A
characteristic peculiarity of the investigated flake is that it contains a
trilayer and bilayer part. The Bernal stacked bilayer was used as a strain
sensor aiming to assess the efficiency of the load transfer from the polymer
matrix through shear to the individual graphene layers. For the trilayer
graphene in tension, both peaks are redshifted and splitting of the G peak is
reported for the first time. In compression, the studied sample was an almost
isolated trilayer, in which both peaks are blue-shifted up to a critical
compressive strain. This critical strain is found to be one fourth of the value
found in the case of single layer graphene despite the higher bending rigidity
that trilayer exhibits over the much thinner monolayer.
