On Crashworthiness and Energy-Absorbing Mechanisms of Thick CFRP Structures for Railway Vehicles
This study aims to provide important guidelines for the crashworthiness design of composite energy-absorbing structures, especially railway vehicles. An experimental and numerical investigation was carried out to explore the crushing response of circular composite tubes reinforced with plain woven c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Polymers |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/22/4795 |
| _version_ | 1797464171912101888 |
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| author | Dongdong Chen Xiaoyu Sun Benhuai Li Yanwen Liu Tao Zhu Shoune Xiao |
| author_facet | Dongdong Chen Xiaoyu Sun Benhuai Li Yanwen Liu Tao Zhu Shoune Xiao |
| author_sort | Dongdong Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study aims to provide important guidelines for the crashworthiness design of composite energy-absorbing structures, especially railway vehicles. An experimental and numerical investigation was carried out to explore the crushing response of circular composite tubes reinforced with plain woven carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRP). Quasi-static and dynamic axial crushing tests were performed on CFRP tubes with an inner diameter of 100 mm and a nominal wall thickness of 12 mm. Experimental results showed that increasing loading velocity led to a 21.8% reduction in specific energy absorption (from 99.7 kJ/kg to 78.7 kJ/kg) but had negligible influence on failure modes. Finite element models were also established and validated against the experimental results using ABAQUS/Explicit software. The effects of several different parameters such as the number of shell layers, friction coefficient, and interface properties on the simulated results, were also investigated and analyzed. A small variation in these parameters could change the total energy absorption of CFRP tubes. The comparisons between the predicted and experimental results indicated that a finite element model with 10 shell layers could effectively replicate the crushing response. In addition, the simulated results indicated that the damage of tubal wall materials dominated the major energy-absorbing mechanisms of CFRP tubes under quasi-static loads, which was 69.1% of the total energy. The energy dissipated by friction effects between the loading platen and the crushed fronds was 24.1% of the total energy. The increase in the loading velocity led to a decrease in the composite damage energy except for friction energy, resulting in a decrease in the total energy absorption. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:04:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a5c40ab534794bfc8df816d54c4c57de |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:04:11Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymers |
| spelling | doaj.art-a5c40ab534794bfc8df816d54c4c57de2023-11-24T09:41:12ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602022-11-011422479510.3390/polym14224795On Crashworthiness and Energy-Absorbing Mechanisms of Thick CFRP Structures for Railway VehiclesDongdong Chen0Xiaoyu Sun1Benhuai Li2Yanwen Liu3Tao Zhu4Shoune Xiao5State Key Laboratory of Traction Power, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Traction Power, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, ChinaBasic R&D Department, National Railway Passenger Car Engineering Research Center, Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd, Changchun 130113, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Traction Power, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Traction Power, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Traction Power, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, ChinaThis study aims to provide important guidelines for the crashworthiness design of composite energy-absorbing structures, especially railway vehicles. An experimental and numerical investigation was carried out to explore the crushing response of circular composite tubes reinforced with plain woven carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRP). Quasi-static and dynamic axial crushing tests were performed on CFRP tubes with an inner diameter of 100 mm and a nominal wall thickness of 12 mm. Experimental results showed that increasing loading velocity led to a 21.8% reduction in specific energy absorption (from 99.7 kJ/kg to 78.7 kJ/kg) but had negligible influence on failure modes. Finite element models were also established and validated against the experimental results using ABAQUS/Explicit software. The effects of several different parameters such as the number of shell layers, friction coefficient, and interface properties on the simulated results, were also investigated and analyzed. A small variation in these parameters could change the total energy absorption of CFRP tubes. The comparisons between the predicted and experimental results indicated that a finite element model with 10 shell layers could effectively replicate the crushing response. In addition, the simulated results indicated that the damage of tubal wall materials dominated the major energy-absorbing mechanisms of CFRP tubes under quasi-static loads, which was 69.1% of the total energy. The energy dissipated by friction effects between the loading platen and the crushed fronds was 24.1% of the total energy. The increase in the loading velocity led to a decrease in the composite damage energy except for friction energy, resulting in a decrease in the total energy absorption.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/22/4795CFRPimpact testenergy-absorbing mechanismsnumerical simulationcrashworthiness design |
| spellingShingle | Dongdong Chen Xiaoyu Sun Benhuai Li Yanwen Liu Tao Zhu Shoune Xiao On Crashworthiness and Energy-Absorbing Mechanisms of Thick CFRP Structures for Railway Vehicles Polymers CFRP impact test energy-absorbing mechanisms numerical simulation crashworthiness design |
| title | On Crashworthiness and Energy-Absorbing Mechanisms of Thick CFRP Structures for Railway Vehicles |
| title_full | On Crashworthiness and Energy-Absorbing Mechanisms of Thick CFRP Structures for Railway Vehicles |
| title_fullStr | On Crashworthiness and Energy-Absorbing Mechanisms of Thick CFRP Structures for Railway Vehicles |
| title_full_unstemmed | On Crashworthiness and Energy-Absorbing Mechanisms of Thick CFRP Structures for Railway Vehicles |
| title_short | On Crashworthiness and Energy-Absorbing Mechanisms of Thick CFRP Structures for Railway Vehicles |
| title_sort | on crashworthiness and energy absorbing mechanisms of thick cfrp structures for railway vehicles |
| topic | CFRP impact test energy-absorbing mechanisms numerical simulation crashworthiness design |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/22/4795 |
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