As part of the design for vehicle crashworthiness, energy-absorbing structural elements have been successfully used in ground and air vehicles alike, and composites have shown great advantages in energy absorbed per unit mass of material. Key factors preventing the widespread adoption of composites in primary crash-resistant structures are the absence of specialized test methods for the characterization of energy absorption and the lack of sufficiently predictive analytical tools. This paper will show the current efforts of the CMH-17 (formerly MIL-HDBK-17) Crashworthiness Working Group (WG) to promote the standardization of a coupon-level specimen with which to screen material systems and compare laminate designs, as well as to calibrate numerical models in advanced finite element programs.
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