Effect of fibre orientation and loading rate on energy absorption capability of composite tubes

The effects of fiber orientation and loading rate on the deformation process, peak load and specific energy absorption of composite tubes were investigated. The axial crushing characteristic of two kinds of composite tubes made of G827/5224 carbon fiber/epoxy and 759/5224 glass fiber/epoxy were examined in both quasi-static and dynamic crush tests, respectively. The experimented results show that the specific energy absorption decreases obviously and the initial peak load declines slowly with the increase of fiber orientation angle for the carbon fiber/epoxy composite tubes; while these energy absorption characteristics do not change obviously for the glass/epoxy composite tubes; the loading rate has little effect on energy absorption of two composite tubes through comparing tested results between the quasi-static and dynamic; these two kinds of composite tubes have steady axial collapse deformation and high energy absorption capability. The investigated results can provide a reference for the application and design of these kinds of composite tubes as energy absorbers.