Axial crushing response of carbon/glass hybrid composite tubes: An experimental and multi-scale computational study

Abstract

This study focuses on the axial crushing behavior of double hat-shaped composite tubes prepared using plain woven fabrics reinforced by carbon fibers, glass fibers and their intra-layer hybrids. A multi-scale modelling strategy was adopted to study the crushing response of composite structures. The Chamis model was used to calculate the effective properties of carbon and glass yarns at the micro-scale level. At the meso-scale level, representative volume element (RVE) models were constructed considering the real fabric pattern. Intra-layer hybridized lamina properties can be obtained using RVE models subjected to typical loading cases. The results were validated through tension, compression and in-plane shear tests. At the macro-scale level, we used a stacked-shell strategy to create the axial crushing finite element models. The effect of intra-layer hybrid on the crushing failure mechanisms of composite tubes was analyzed and compared to that of non-hybrid carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) or glass fiber reinforced polymers (GFRP) tubes.