Failure response of holed aluminum/glass hybrid composite tubes

It is known that aluminum/composite hybrid tubes of aluminum tube wrapped with a composite material on the outside can offer remarkable performance. This study systematically investigates the effect of stacking sequence on the torque capacity of holed aluminum/composite hybrid tubes. The stacked specimens manufactured by the filament winding method, [+/- 452/Al], [90/ +/- 452/Al], and [+/- 452/90/Al], are considered in experimental studies. The tubes were tested for torsional characteristics at a constant angular rotational speed. The experimental studies indicated that although monotonic crack propagation was observed in the aluminum tube with the damage starting from the hole wall at an angle of approximately 45 degrees concerning the specimen axis, the damage in hybrid tubes containing a 90 degrees layer occurs in two phases. This causes a steplike formation in the torque-angle curves. Although the +/- 45 degrees reinforcement has a profound effect on torque-carrying, it has been observed that the presence of the 90 degrees composite on the aluminum tube in the reinforced tube improves the effectiveness (torque capacity and stiffness) of the subsequent reinforcement. Accordingly, it is understood that the hybrid structure increases the torque-carrying capacity up to 2.6 times compared to the aluminum tube, corresponding to a 20% increase in specific torque value. The stress components that play an important role in the deformation of the hole wall and damage formation processes have been successfully determined by the finite element method. It was found that there was a consistent relationship between the effect of the stacking sequence on the stress distribution and the experimental results. The results of the study are expected to be useful in terms of providing light and sufficient torque performance in case of possible hole-like discontinuity in-service conditions.

Automated summary

This study investigates the effect of stacking sequence on the torque capacity of holed aluminum/composite hybrid tubes. The results show that adding a 90 degrees composite layer in the hybrid tube improves the effectiveness of the subsequent reinforcement. The torque-carrying capacity of the hybrid structure is increased by 2.6 times compared to the aluminum tube.