Effect of trigger geometry on energy absorption in composite profiles

This paper presents an experimental study on the energy absorption capabili ty of two different composite profiles; both are realised in glass-polyeste r pultrusion. One of the profiles is a unidirectional box section, whilst t he other, an I section, consists of alternating layers of mat and fabric. F or each one of the two profiles, six different trigger geometries are analy sed. The results show that the I profile is a good candidate for being cons idered for energy absorption applications. It is also concluded that when s tudying a trigger geometry, slight modifications (as the bevel angle of a b evel trigger) can result in important variations of the results. (C) 1999 E lsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.