Impact Energy Absorption of Continuous Fiber Composite Tubes

This paper presents the results of an impact testing program that was conducted to characterize the energy absorption and failure characteristics of selected composite material systems and to compare the results with aluminum and steel. Composite tube specimens were constructed using graphite/epoxy (Gr/Ep), Kevlar/epoxy (K/Ep), and glass/epoxy (Gl/Ep) prepreg tape and were autoclave cured. Vertical impact and static compression tests were performed on 56 tubes. Tests results for energy absorption varied significantly as a function of lay-up angle and material type. In general, the Gr/Ep tubes had specific energy absorption values that were greater than those for K/Ep and Gl/Ep tubes having the same ply construction. Angle-ply Gr/Ep and K/Ep tubes had specific energy absorption values that were greater than those for 1024 steel tubes. Gr/Ep and Gl/Ep angle-ply tubes exhibited brittle failure modes consisting of fiber splitting and ply delamination, whereas the K/Ep angle-ply tubes collapsed in an accordian buckling mode similar to that obtained for metal tubes.