EFFECT OF TESTING TEMPERATURE ON THE ENERGY-ABSORPTION BEHAVIOR OF CARBON FIBER PEEK COMPOSITE TUBES/

The primary objective was to study the effect of testing temperature o n the energy absorption characteristics of carbon/PEEK composite tubes . Composite tubes with 0 degrees fiber architecture were tested at dif ferent temperatures in the range from -100 degrees C to 150 degrees C. Tubes tested at -100 degrees C and -80 degrees C failed catastrophica lly by longitudinal cracking parallel to fibers and splitting of tube wall into segments. This was attributed to the reduced fracture toughn ess at these low temperatures. Composite tubes tested at temperatures above -60 degrees C crushed progressively by the splaying mode. The en ergy absorption capability increased with increasing temperature from -60 degrees C to -10 degrees C and then decreased with further increas e of temperature. A maximum energy absorption capability of 245 kJ/kg was displayed by the tubes tested at -10 degrees C. This variation of energy absorption was attributed to the changes in morphological featu res of the crush zone and the mechanical properties of composite mater ial with temperature.