EFFECTS OF BRAIDING PARAMETERS ON ENERGY-ABSORPTION CAPABILITY OF TRIAXIALLY BRAIDED COMPOSITE TUBES

The effects of two different braiding parameters, the braiding angle a nd the axial yam content, on the crush failure characteristics and spe cific energy absorption capability of two-dimensional (2D) triaxially braided composite circular tubes were studied. Quasi-static axial comp ression was employed for these crush tests. The crushing appearance an d failure modes in the crushing zones were examined by optical microsc opy. The results showed that the triaxially braided carbon composite t ubes were crushed by a progressive splaying mode. The average width of the splaying fronds increased with increasing braiding angle, but dec reased with increasing axial yam content. The tube with 20 degrees bra iding angle showed the highest specific energy absorption among the tu bes with various braiding angles. And the tubes using 6k similar to 12 k fiber tows as the axial yam exhibited higher specific energy absorpt ion among the tubes with various axial yam content.