Abstract
Filament-wound composite tubular structures are frequently used in transmission systems, pressure vessels, and sports equipment. In this study, the failure mechanism of composite tubes reinforced with different fibres under low-velocity impact (LVI) and the radial residual compression performance of the impacted composite tubes were investigated. Four fibres, including carbon fiber-T800, carbon fiber-T700, basalt fibre, and glass fibre, were used to fabricate the composite tubes by the winding process. The internal matrix/fibre interface of the composite tubes before the LVI and their failure mechanism after the LVI were investigated by scanning electric microscopy and X-ray micro-computed tomography, respectively. The results showed that the composite tubes mainly fractured through the delamination and fibre breakage damage under the impact of 15 J energy. Delamination and localized fibre breakage occur in the glass fibre-reinforced composite (GFRP) and basalt fibre-reinforced composite (BFRP) tubes when subjected to LVI. While fibre breakage damage occurs globally in the carbon fibre-reinforced composite (CFRP) tubes. The GFRP tube showed the best impact resistance among all the tubes investigated. The basalt fibre-reinforced composite (BFRP) tube exhibited the lowest structural impact resistance. The impact resistance of the CFRP-T700 and CFRP-T800 tube differed slightly. The radial residual compression strength (R-RCS) of the BFRP tube is not sensitive to the impact, while that of the GFRP tube is shown to be highly sensitive to the impact.
Highlights
Composite materials are widely applied in many fields such as aerospace, shipping, rail traffic, automobiles, and construction owing to their light weight, corrosion resistance, fatigue durability, and excellent resistance to high and low temperatures
Special attention should be paid to the fact that the fibre breakage damage of the basalt fibre-reinforced composite (BFRP) tube occurs in the impact centre, which is different to the CFRP tubes, indicating that the fibre has an influence on the FRP tubes when subjected to low-velocity impact (LVI)
This study investigates the effect of fibres on the LVI behaviour, failure mechanism, and RCS of tubular composite structures reinforced by carbon fibre-T800, carbon fibre-T700, basalt fibre, and glass fibre
Summary
Composite materials are widely applied in many fields such as aerospace, shipping, rail traffic, automobiles, and construction owing to their light weight, corrosion resistance, fatigue durability, and excellent resistance to high and low temperatures. Glass fibre, and basalt fibre are the main types of fibres that exhibit the best performance while processing composite materials, which differ considerably based on performance and applications. Carbon fibre-reinforced composites (CFRPs) have been applied in the aerospace, military defence, and civil industries [1,2]. Materials 2020, 13, 4143 and basalt fibre-reinforced composites (BFRPs) are widely used in construction and manufacturing. Glass fibre-reinforced composites (GFRPs) find various applications in the fields of electronics, transportation, and construction owing to the good machining performance and high-strain-failure coefficient of glass fibres [3,4,5]
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