Experimental and numerical analysis on the geometrical parameters towards the maximum SEA of CFRP components

Abstract

An experimental and finite element based numerical evaluation on the effects of geometrical parameters towards the energy absorption capacity of [0/90] carbon/epoxy composite tubes is presented. The optimum energy absorption characteristics of such carbon fibre polymer composites (CFRP) elements are considered towards the implementation in crashworthy structures. The effects of the CFRP tube wall-thickness-to-diameter (t/D) ratio, along with the triggering radius of the plug-type initiators, on the specific energy absorption (SEA) capacity were examined to determine the optimum parametric values for SEA. Additionally, different types of chamfers such as; inward folding chamfer, outward splaying chamfer and a flat-ended tube were investigated. Experiments were conducted to confirm the optimum trigger radius at which the critical change in energy absorption occurs and validation study were performed using finite element based LS-Dyna.The numerical prediction followed with experimental validation, confirming that the energy absorption capacity of carbon composite tubes increased to a maximum t/D ratio at 0.092, before experiencing a reduction. It has also been found that the geometry of the triggering mechanisms contributed to a change in the initial peak and mean crush loads of composite tubes. In this paper, the effect of the triggering mechanisms on the energy absorption characteristics of composite tubes for crashworthy applications are successfully demonstrated.