Development of efficient energy absorption components for crashworthiness applications: An experimental study

This work experimentally investigates the quasi-static crush response and energy absorption of glass-reinforced epoxy thin-walled crash box filled with nano-aluminum oxide (Al2O3). The effect of the triggering (45 degrees$$ {}<^>{{}<^>{\circ}} $$ edge chamfering) and the weight percentage (wt%) of Al2O3 on the crushing performance have been studied. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) were adapted to show the elemental composition of the fabricated samples' surfaces. To follow the fracture mechanism, visual inspection, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were performed. Two-parameter Weibull distribution function was employed to statistically analyze the experimental results. Failure probability curves were established to help the designers in selecting the suitable material for energy-absorbing applications. Results indicated that for untriggered glass/epoxy composite crash boxes, the inclusion of 1, 2, and 3 wt% of nano-Al2O3 leads to an increase of, respectively, 16.34%, 48.46%, and 68.70% in the absorbed energy (U). While there is a decrease of 32.72% in (U) when adding 4 wt% of nano-Al2O3. An enrichment of 9.00%, 18.04%, 31.53%, and 11.30% in crush force efficiency (CFE) was reached by the inclusion of, respectively, 1, 2, 3, and 4 wt% of nano-Al2O3. Triggering has a considerable effect on the crashworthiness parameters of the fabricated composite crash boxes. A decrease of 6.56%, 10.11%, 4.01%, 4.76%, and 11.62% in the initial peak load (Pip$$ {P}_{ip} $$), an enrichment of 34.10%, 26.06%, 26.77%, 18.08%, and 28.97% in (CFE) and an improvement of 36.43%, 31.32%, 29.27%, 12.99%, and 52.47% in (U) were reported for composite crash boxes filled with 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 wt% of nano-Al2O3. It is obvious that glass/epoxy triggered composite crash boxes filled with 3 wt% of nano-Al2O3 are appropriate to be used as energy absorbing device employed in vehicles due to their enhanced energy absorbing capabilities.

Automated summary

This study experimentally investigated the crush response and energy absorption of glass-reinforced epoxy crash boxes filled with nano-aluminum oxide. The results show that adding nano-Al2O3 can enhance energy absorption capabilities, and triggering has a significant impact on the performance of the crash boxes.