Modelling the crushing behaviour of composite tubes

Abstract

The crushing behaviour of composite tubes is a complex phenomenon involving closely interacting multiple fracture processes and frictional effects. These factors contribute significantly to the overall energy absorption and have been observed in many experiments involving crushing of composite tubes. However, it is difficult to determine their relative importance and further the understanding of the fundamental failure mechanisms unless an accurate numerical model can be established. At present, this goal does not yet appear to have been achieved. This paper reviews the progress and state-of-the-art in modelling the crushing behaviour of composite tubes and discusses the merits and difficulties of the approaches found in the literature. In most cases, rather simple approaches and models were used. Although these enable estimates of the total energy absorbed, they neglect many of the pertinent features of the crushing process. Some recent attempts by the authors to model the crushing of composite tubes by using the finite element method are also presented. Preliminary results show some qualitative agreement with experiments and provide some insight into problems associated with numerical modelling of crushing behaviour of composite tubes. © 1998 Trans Tech Publications.