Energy Absorption Capability of Fibreglass Composite Square Frusta Subjected to Static and Dynamic Axial Collapse

摘要

The crashworthy behaviour of square frusta of fibreglass composite material subjected to axial compression at various strain rates is reported. The effect of specimen geometry and the loading rate on the energy absorbing capability was experimentally studied. The mechanics of the axial crumbling process from macroscopic and microscopic points of view were also investigated theoretically and experimentally. The collapse modes at macroscopic and microscopic scale during the failure process were observed and analysed. A theoretical analysis of the observed stable collapse mechanism of the components crushed under axial compression, for calculating crushing loads and energy absorbed during collapse, is proposed. A good agreement between theoretical and experimental results was obtained indicating the efficiency of the theoretical model in predicting the energy absorbing capacity of the collapsed shell.