Energy Absorption of wool/epoxy Composite Tubes

The energy absorption capability of a composite material is critical to developing improved human safety in an automotive crash. Changes many parameters like matrix type, fiber type, specimen geometry and testing speed can cause subsequent changes in the specific energy absorption of composite materials. Hence, the purpose of this work is to investigate the effects of vertex angle on energy absorption, which considerably affect the axial collapse load of unidirectional wool composite elliptical tubes. Experimental crushing tests have been carried out by universal testing machine for unidirectional filament wound laminated wool-epoxy elliptical tubes and with constant speed of 15 mm/min. The vertex angles of wool-epoxy elliptical tubes vary from 0° to 12° in 4 increments, and lengths of 100 mm were tested. The results showed that the specific energy absorbed by the composite elliptical tubes (cones) with the vertex angles of 4°, 8° and 12°, is more than that in an elliptical tube with the vertex angle of 0°. In this regard, elliptical composite tube (cone) with angle of 12° exhibited the best energy absorption capability.