Experimental investigation of crashworthiness of hybrid composite-aluminum columns under the quasi-static lateral loading

In this article, energy absorption behaviors of hybrid hollow aluminum columns with composite coating of polyester resin and glass fibers are evaluated through the quasi-static flattening experiments. The aluminum specimens are cut from the long traditional aluminum columns and then, two parallel edges of their cross-sections are coated by the 3, 5 and 7 layers of the polyester resin and chopped or woven glass fibers. In the following, the prepared specimens are positioned between two rigid platens of a universal testing machine and the lateral flattening experiments are carried out in the quasi-static loading condition and their total absorbed energy (TAE) and Specific energy absorption (SEA) are recorded. Comparison of the experimental results shows that by coating hollow square aluminum columns and converting them into the multi-layer composite-aluminum structures, the hybrid columns are achieved with 1.89 times of total absorbed energy and the same specific energy absorption respect to the corresponding simple square benchmark; while; their external occupied spaces are the same.

Keywords:

Chopped glass fibers , Polyester resin , Composite coating , Hybrid columns , Flattening test