Effect of trigger geometry on energy absorption in composite profiles

This paper presents an experimental study on the energy absorption capability of two different composite profiles; both are realised in glass-polyester pultrusion. One of the profiles is a unidirectional box section, whilst the other, an I section, consists of alternating layers of mat and fabric. For each one of the two profiles, six different trigger geometries are analysed. The results show that the I profile is a good candidate for being considered for energy absorption applications. It is also concluded that when studying a trigger geometry, slight modifications (as the bevel angle of a bevel trigger) can result in important variations of the results. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.