RELATION OF ENERGY-ABSORPTION OF COMPOSITE STRUCTURES TO MATERIAL STRENGTH

The crushing of (+/- theta) filament-wound glass-epoxy composites tube s was studied both experimentally and theoretically. An analytical mod el was developed, which describes the interaction between the geometry and material properties which occurs during crushing. The study was b ased on a semi-empirical approach of the crushing process and used int erlaminar crack progapation and material failure criteria. Quantitativ e results were obtained concerning the crush-zone morphology and the i nfluence of geometry and material strength on the energy absorption ca pacity of composite tubes. Good agreement with experimental data was o btained. Ways to establish a complete predictive model are discussed.