Experimental and numerical study of the energy absorption capacity of pultruded composite tubes

A numerical and experimental investigation was carried out in order to evaluate the response of composite tubes, made of poly-vinylester or polyester matrix reinforced unidirectionally with glass fibers, under quasistatic loading. The influence of triggering in failure and energy absorption was investigated. Also a series of finite element models was created using LS-DYNA3D and compared with experimental results. The correlation between simulations and experiments was relatively satisfactory and from the results of the study the energy absorbing suitability of each tube was evaluated. Results would provide more data that are needed for designing effective energy absorption mechanisms subjected under high speed loads

Experimental and numerical study on axial crushing behaviour of pultruded composite tubes

An extensive experimental investigation was carried out to study the energy absorbing characteristics and progressive deformation behavior of unidirectional pultruded composite tubes subjected to an axial impact load. Pultruded square and circular profiles with glass-polyester and glass-vinylester combinations were used to study the specific energy absorption characteristics. Two types of triggering profiles were incorporated to investigate the effect of triggering on energy absorption. All the above combinations were investigated for three impact velocities. The effects of geometry profile, triggering and strain rate on energy absorption of composite tubes were studied in detail. A numerical simulation using finite element method was carried out to assess the energy absorption capability of composite tubes. To model the delamination between the composite plies, a new approach was adopted using cohesive elements. The progressive failure modes and crushing characteristics of the composite tubes are presented. From these studies, the composite tubes can be considered as energy absorbing members for impact applications

Numerical energy absorption study of composite tubes for axial impact loadings

This paper focuses on the numerical energy absorption behaviour of pultruded composite tubes under an axial impact loading case. The circular and square cross sectional glass-polyester composite tubes are considered for the study. In order to capture the typical failure modes such as delaminations, lamina bending, axial cracks and fibre fracturing, a new innovative approach was used using multiple shell elements, cohesive elements and pre-defined seams. To predict the correct peak crush load and the corresponding energy absorption, the importance of the numerical modelling of multiple delaminations and triggering are discussed. Two types of triggering were chosen for the study (45⁰ deg chamfering around the edges and a tulip pattern with an included angle between the edges of 60⁰). Finally, the results of this numerical investigation are compared with experimental data. The commercially available finite element code ABAQUS V6.7-3 Explicit was used for this study