Effect of temperature and fibre reinforcement on dynamic crush performance of glass-polyamide 6 composite tubes

In this study, the dynamic axial crushing response of tubular specimens made of glass-polyamide 6 composite material, with either mat or continuous bidirectional fibre reinforcement is experimentally investigated under three different temperature settings: -40 ° C , 23 ° C and 80 ° C . The assessment and evaluation of the dynamic crush performance are based on the measured global force–displacement response, application of typical crashworthiness criteria and a detailed examination of the existing damage and failure phenomena, which are responsible for energy absorption. At temperatures of 23 ° C and -40 ° C , all specimens showed a stable progressive crushing process by a pronounced splaying failure. Specimens with mat fibre reinforcement show a more stable and efficient crushing behaviour than specimens with continuous bidirectional fibre reinforcement. This behaviour changes for a temperature of 80 ° C where the continuous bidirectional reinforced specimens exhibit a higher crush efficiency, while specimens with mat fibre reinforcement show a very unstable crushing process, leading to local compressive kinking failure and a 22% decrease in crush efficiency.