Progressive failure of metal–composite hybrid wheels under impact

Abstract

An 18-in hybrid wheel consisting of an aluminum alloy disk and a composite rim under 13° impact test is considered in this study. The rim is made of carbon fabric/polyurethane composites fabricated by resin transfer molding. Explicit finite element analysis with progressive failure function is used to investigate the failure situation of the hybrid wheel and the suitable braid angle of the braided composite. The effective elastic constants and strengths of the braided composites predicted by basic finite element analyses are adopted, whereas the true stress–strain curve of aluminum is used for the disk. Simulation results indicate that the aluminum alloy disk is safe after the impact test, whereas the rim is damaged. The volume of failed elements after impact simulation is selected as an indicator to obtain a quantity that can be used to represent the damage situation of the rim. Compared with the test results of a real hybrid wheel with [±30°] fiber angle in the rim, the hybrid wheel with fiber angle in the rim that is greater than [±30°] could pass the impact test.