Previous research works identified the effects of cooling rate, testing speed and tube geometry on the energy absorption behavior of carbon fiber reinforced polyether-ether-ketone (carbon/PEEK) composite tubes. One of the objectives of this work is to optimize the energy absorption capability of these tubes by changing the fiber orientation. Composite tubes with fiber orientations 0°, ±5°, ±10°, ±15°, ±20°, ±25° and ±30° with respect to the axis of the tube have been investigated. The energy absorption capability as well as the crush zone morphology were dependent on the fiber orientation. Efforts have been made to relate the variations of specific energy to the changes in the crush zone morphology. Tubes with ±15° fiber orientation displayed a specific energy of 225 kJ/kg, the highest ever reported in the literature. The fracture mechanisms that resulted in the superior energy absorption performance of these tubes have been identified.
The primary objective of this work was to study the energy absorption characteristics of carbon-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite tubes. Composite tubes with different thermoplastic matrices-polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyetherimide (PEI), polyimide (PI), and polyarylsulfone (PAS) -have been investigated. Fiber orientations of 0°,±5°±10°, ±15°, ±20°, ±25° and ±30° with respect to the axis of the tube were used. Among the thermoplastic tubes investigated, the carbon fiber/PEEK tubes displayed the highest specific energy absorption capability. This was attributed to the superior fracture toughness of the carbon fiber/PEEK composite material and a large number of frond splits and fractured fibers in the crush zone. The specific energy absorption capability was dependent on the fiber orientation. Efforts have been made to relate the change in specific energy to the variation of microfracture processes in the crush zone.
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