Energy Absorption Behavior of Metal/Polymer/Metal Sandwich Crash Structures

Abstract

Crash structures consisting of metal/polymer/metal (MPM) sandwich structures with a thermoplastic core exhibit a sufficient energy absorbing effectiveness, comparable or even better than metallic crash absorbers. In general, the crash structures have an unfavorable absorbing behavior at the beginning of the crash, which is indicated by high forces and small displacements. Because of this, the influence of inserted crash initiators (triggers) on the buckling mechanism was investigated using quasi-static and dynamic tests with different trigger geometries. As a result, a slit of 4 mm width decreased the peak force with about 50 % in the dynamic testing regime. A slit of 1 mm was found to be the most effective one for decreasing the peak force. The way the trigger works on the structure transferring it in a progressive buckling mechanism needs further investigation, due to a recorded double peak in the peak force area, which was not reproducible in different samples.

Metal-Polymer-Metal Laminates for Lightweight Application

“…2) chemically by electro-chemical etching [28], acidic or basic anodisation, introducing adhesive promoters [31][32][33], or by using adhesive agents such as epoxy resins [34,35] and 3) physically in order to create a certain surface topography by laser treatment [36][37][38] or cleaning/activating the adherent surfaces by plasma or corona treatment [39][40][41][42][43].…”

On crushing characteristics of hybrid sandwich aluminum-cardboard panels reinforced with glass fiber composite rods

“…Recent work has also been done by Paruka et al [26,27], Harms et al [28], Shin et al [29], Reuter et al [30], Kim et al [31], Liu et al [32], Wu et al [33], and Zhu et al [34] on crashworthiness of hybrid structures consisting of metals, primarily aluminum, and fiber-reinforced polymer composites. Their work focuses largely on hybrid tubular structures and sandwich panels with the aim to obtain benefits of performance, weight reduction, and low-cost from combining lightweight metals with composites in crash applications.…”