Experimental investigation and finite-element modeling of the crushing response of hat shape open section composite

In crash event, aerospace structures are designed to collapse progressively, dissipating high kinetic energy and protecting the passengers against abrupt decelerations. To achieve this goal, a better comprehension of crash failure mechanisms is necessary to improve traditional crash structures by designing and optimizing new energy absorbers. In this paper, the elementary failure mechanisms involved in crushing of open section coupons are investigated; damage initiation and evolution, and absorbed energy of plain weave fabric CFRP Hat-Shape cross section specimens have been studied under quasi-static crushing load. Numerical simulations have been performed by using twelve layers of stacked-shell models with two heights (100-150mm) and two triggers (steeple, chamfer45 degrees), Abq_Ply_Fabric material model embedded in Abaqus/Explicit results was used and compared against experimental data. and good agreement has been found. As results, Coupons with 100mm height and chamfer45 degrees trigger dissipates more energy than coupons with 150mm height and steeple trigger.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the failure mechanisms involved in the crushing of aerospace structures during crash events and aims to optimize traditional crash structures by studying damage initiation, evolution, and absorbed energy of composite materials. The results from numerical simulations and experiments show that samples with lower heights and chamfer angles have better energy dissipation capabilities compared to samples with higher heights and steeple triggers.