Parametric study on the crashworthiness of the Al/CFRP/GFRP hybrid tubes under quasi-static crushing

Metal/composite hybrid structures have attracted widespread attention due to great characteristics. This study aimed to explore the effects of different parameters on the energy absorption characteristics of Al/CFRP/GFRP hybrid tubes under axial loading, and the interactive effects among Al, CFRP and GFRP of hybrid tubes were analyzed. Four hybrid tubes with different mixed winding modes were designed, and then numerical models were established and verified by experimental results. The failure modes and crashworthiness of Al/CFRP and Al/CFRP/GFRP tubes were analyzed and compared. Parametric studies were conducted to explore the effects of mixed winding modes, material thickness, number of CFRP/GFRP layers and stacking sequences of the hybrid tubes. The results showed that mean crushing force (MCF) of the Al/CFRP/GFRP tube was 2.11, 8.81 and 4.90% higher than the Al/CFRP tube, Al/GFRP tube and Al/GFRP/CFRP tube, respectively. Increasing the thickness of Al tube and the number of CFRP layers, the specific energy absorption (SEA) exhibited a generally upward trend. However, the SEA first decreased and then increased as the winding angle of CFRP layers increased, while the number of GFRP layers had relatively little effect on SEA. The proper proportion of 90 degrees layers in CFRP and GFRP walls could improve the SEA.

Automated summary

This study investigated the effects of different parameters on the energy absorption characteristics of metal/composite hybrid tubes and analyzed the interactive effects among different materials. The results showed that the Al/CFRP/GFRP tubes exhibited higher energy absorption efficiency compared to other structures, and the energy absorption was influenced by the thickness of the Al tube, the number of CFRP layers, and the winding angle of CFRP layers.