RETRACTED: Crashworthiness performance of filament wound GFRP composite pipes depending on winding angle and number of layers

The main goal of this study is to increase the crashworthiness performance of tubular composite to absorb more energy by optimizing the orientation of its fibers. The crashworthiness performance of glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite pipes manufactured using the filament winding process is investigated in detail. The effects of fiber orientation and thickness of tube wall on energy absorption capabilities were investigated through quasi-static compression tests. The composite pipes were produced with 1200 tex E-glass fibers and Epikote 828 resin as the matrix material. The winding angles of ±30°, ±45°, ±55°, ±75°, and ±90° were examined, and the number of winding layers ranged from 1 to 3 were also examined. Quasi-static axial compressive loading was applied to 15 specimens using a hydraulic actuator. The results revealed that single-layered samples experienced buckling damage at low load levels, while an increase in the number of layers led to higher load-carrying capacity and different types of damage. Furthermore, as the number of layers increased, the load-carrying capacity and energy absorption capacity significantly improved. Progressive failure was observed in [±90°] wound samples for all layer configurations, with [±90°]3 exhibiting the highest performance in terms of load-carrying capacity and energy absorption. The damaged shapes indicated a combination of fiber separation, buckling, diagonal shearing failure, and crushing in the upper and lower heads.