Numerical and Experimental Study of the Effect of Orientation and Stacking Sequence on Petalling of Composite Cylindrical Tubes under Axial Compression

Abstract

Composite tubes are gradually being used in modern automobile structures, for enhancing structural efficiency and their performance. The energy absorbing ability of composite cylindrical tubes depends on the way in which the tube material is crushed. i.e., trend of petalling. This paper experimentally investigates the influence of fiber orientation and stacking sequence on the petal formation and specific energy absorption (SEA) of composite cylindrical tubes made of three layers under axial compression. The composite tubes consist of glass and carbon fiber unidirectional and woven cylindrical tubes with external triggers. A series of test components were made and several experiments were performed. To understand better about the crush process, numerical (FEM) studies on the crushing of tubes were carried using ABAQUS/Explicit ®. A progressive failure analysis approach is developed for fiber reinforced composite tubes using Hashin's criteria and the initiations of intra-laminar failures are identified. The crash performance of the optimum composite tube is compared to an optimal aluminium tube.