Microstructural design of composite materials for crashworthy structural applications

Abstract

Traditionally, metals are used for crashworthy structural applications, mainly due to their plastic deformation characteristics that enable them to absorb impact energy in a controlled manner. Unlike the metals, polymer composite materials display little plastic deformation characteristics. The use of polymer composites for crashworthy structural applications is a major challenge for the composite community. Current research work clearly suggests that when properly designed, polymer composite materials absorb more energy per unit mass of material than the conventional metals. This article describes the effect of microstructure variables, such as type of reinforcements and matrices, reinforcement architecture and reinforcement/matrix interface bond strength, on the energy absorption characteristics of polymer composite materials. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.