Crashworthy Behavior of Plain Weave Glass/Epoxy Composite Tubes Containing Different Extents of Overlap of Dropped Plies

Fiber-reinforced composite tubes offer numerous advantages over traditional metal tubes, including lower weight, higher strength and stiffness, corrosion resistance, and fatigue resistance. These tubes have the potential to act as energy absorbers, making it crucial to understand the factors influencing their energy-absorbing characteristics. This study focuses on experimentally investigating the crashworthiness of woven glass/epoxy composite tubes by analyzing the effects of the inner diameter and the extent of overlapping dropped-off plies. Circular cross-sectional tubes with different diameters (۲۰, ۲۵, and ۳۰mm) and varying extents of ply overlap (۰, ¼, ½, ¾, and ۱ times the circumference) are subjected to impact loading and quasi-static compressive loading. The length-to-diameter ratio remains constant across all cases. The investigation examines the influence of the inner diameter and the extent of overlapping plies on parameters such as mean crushing force, energy absorption, specific energy absorption, crush force efficiency, and stroke efficiency, and compares the damage and failure mechanisms observed in different composite tube configurations. The results highlight that specimens with smaller diameters and a half overlap exhibit maximum crush load efficiency, contrary to specimens with larger diameters and full overlap. This study emphasizes the significance of considering the extent of overlapping and its geometry to tailor the energy absorption characteristics of composite tubes for specific applications.

Keywords:

Composite tubes , Energy absorbers , ply drops , Dropped-off plies , Specific energy absorption