Crashworthiness Optimization of Tapered UD-CFRP Tube Accounting for Multiple Loading Pangles

Tapered composite energy-absorbing components have superior advantages in weight reduction and crashworthiness improvement subjected to oblique compressions compared to straight structures. This study investigated the crashworthiness characteristics of uni-directional carbon fiber reinforced plastic (UD-CFRP) tubes under various loading angles, and further provided the guidance on multi-objectives optimization for UD-CFRP tubes accounting for multiple loading cases. The crashworthiness characteristics of straight UD-CFRP tubes subjected to three compressive angles (0°, 10° and 20°) were firstly explored experimentally, and results indicated that energy-absorbing capacity of samples decreased with the loading angles increasing due to changes in deformation behaviors. The multi-layer finite element modes (FEMs) were developed and validated, and simulations found that internal energy (IE) of intra-CFRP layer and inter-cohesive layer, friction energy decreased with the increase in loading angles. Parametric studies indicated crashworthy performances of UD-CFRP samples under multiple loading angles can be further improved by adjusting the tapered angle or wall thickness. Consequently, the synthetic special energy absorption ( SEA β ), synthetic peak crushing force ( PCF β ) and mass of tapered tube were optimized accounting for three different loading groups. Compared to baseline sample, the SEA β was improved by 14 %, while the PCF β and mass were reduced by 30.2 % and 19 %, respectively.