Composite sandwich structures for crashworthiness applications

Abstract

Fibre-reinforced polymer sandwiches are promising materials for reducing vehicle mass, thereby improving the fuel economics. Nonetheless, to fully explore these materials as the primary structures and energy absorbers in vehicles, it is important to understand the energy absorption capabilities of these materials. Hence, in the present work, comprehensive experimental investigation on the response of composite sandwich panels to quasi-static compression has been carried out. The crashworthiness parameters, namely the peak load, absorbed crash energy, specific absorbed energy, average crushing load, stroke efficiency, and crush force efficiency of various types of composite sandwich panels were investigated in a series of edgewise compression tests. The composite sandwich panels tested consists of several designs, such as C-shaped, wrapped, and with composite inserts in the core of the panel. The tested composite sandwich specimens were primarily fabricated from glass fibre. For some of the designs, Kevlar and carbon fibres were used. For the core material, two different types of polymeric foams, polystyrene and polyurethane, were used with densities close to 30 kg/m 3 . Several modes of failure were observed and recorded. The primary mode of failure observed was progressive crushing with capabilities of high energy absorption and high stroke efficiencies. Particular attention is paid on the analysis of the mechanism of progressive crushing of the sandwich panels and its relation to the energy absorption capabilities. This is a vital information for designing these materials as energy absorbers.

Investigating the quasi-static axial crushing behavior of polymeric foam-filled composite pultrusion square tubes

“…5 and 6. Similar deformation pattern have been observed and studied by Tarlochan et al [16] and Mahdi et al [17]. The final region under load-displacement curve observed restricted behavior of tubular structures and the force needed to crush at this compaction zone region given cross-section composite tube exceed a final length of each specimen.…”

Bi-tubular corrugated composite conical–cylindrical tube for energy absorption in axial and oblique loading: Analysis and optimization

“…13 Composite tubes with different fiber materials were also compared with each other. 14 It was shown that tubes with carbon fibers are superior to others. Mahdi et al 15 conducted a thorough research on finding the best lay-up for the composite tubes.…”

Mechanical characterization and modeling of an innovative composite material for railway applications

“…Several factors are involved in the material selection for railway applications. The applicability of a new material for a vehicle, in fact, involves not only the assessment in terms of stiffness and crashworthiness, 8 but also functional requirements as vibro-acoustic characteristics and electromagnetic compatibility, as well as the consideration of costs and the manufacturing process. In particular, the structural application of composite materials is arduous due to the strict railway fire normative.…”