Effects of aluminum honeycomb filler on crashworthiness of CFRP thin-walled beams under dynamic impact

Abstract

Filling structures with aluminium honeycomb is a typical method for increasing the energy absorption (EA) characteristics of thin-walled beams. This paper puts forward the new outstanding energy absorption component of aluminium honeycomb-filled Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) thin-walled beams which has good cost-effectiveness and easy availability. The effects of aluminium honeycomb filler on the crashworthiness of CFRP thin-walled beams are discussed. Dynamic impact tests of the bending and compression of aluminium honeycomb-filled beams with different configurations are carried out, and the deformation modes and force responses are investigated. Numerical simulations of the tests are also performed, and the accuracy is validated by the experimental results. The influences of such factors as aluminium honeycomb cell size and aluminium honeycomb filling on bending and compression resistance are analyzed. The results show that aluminium honeycomb filler considerably improve the performance of CFRP thin-walled beams.