Energy Absorption of Expanding Composite Tubes

• Main Author: Tay, Yi Xiang
• Other Authors: Chai Gin Boay
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/67920
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Thin-walled metal tubes have been the norm for energy absorption applications in vehicular structures. In attempt to improve their crashworthiness, composite materials which possess superior qualities were used to wrap these metal tubes so as to increase their energy absorption capability. Past studies involving quasi-static compression-expansion experiments have confirmed the feasibility of such metal-composite combination. This study explores methods to further improve the specific energy absorption of these tubes through experimentation. Fabrication involved the use of hollow mild steel cylindrical tubes and uni-directional carbon-fibre prepreg. Two parameters were examined, the fibre orientation of the composite material and the location of perforations along bare metal tubes. The obtained results show promising improvements in specific energy absorption.