Considering the Effects of Cross - Section and Fiber Orientation of Composite Tubes Under Axial Loading in Energy Absorption

Composites materials are widely used because of their high specific stiffness and strength. Although the methods and techniques of designing these materials are well developed, however, the research on the behavior of these materials under impact and dynamic loadings are still under progress. In this article the crushing and energy absorption of composite tubes under axial dynamic loadings are studied. In order to calculate the absorbed energy and the crushing load, composite tubes with circular and tubular cross-sections are modeled using LS-DYNA software. In order to simulate the crushing behavior of the tubes the laminated-composite material model is utilized. Also the effects of fiber orientation on the energy absorption are studied. The results show that the energy absorption of the tubes with tubularcross-section is less than those of the circular cross-section. The results show that for [θ/-θ] configuration, the minimum energy is absorbed for θ = 15o. The results of simulation for the tubular cross-sections are compared with theexperimental results and a very good correlation is achieved.