Lateral crashworthiness response of bombyx mori fibre/glass–fibre/epoxy hybrid composite cylindrical tubes-experimental

Abstract

Experimental studies were undertaken to investigate the effect of reinforced fibre hybridization on the crushing characteristics of quasi-static laterally compressed cylindrical composite tubes. Woven glass fibre (GF) and woven bombyx mori fibre (B.mori) were used as reinforcements and industrial epoxy was used as the matrix material to fabricate the reinforced hybrid composite specimen. Three sets of specimen were fabricated, (1) glass fibre/epoxy (2) B.mori fibre/epoxy and (3) GF/B.mori/epoxy hybrid composite, to clearly ascertain the effect of reinforced fibre hybridization. Load-displacement curves and specimen’s deformation histories were used to analyze energy absorption and load carriability. The length of each specimen was 80 mm, three specimens were tested from each set and an average value recorded. Generally, the results showed that the hybrid composite tube specimen performed better when compared with the other tubes.

Keywords

• hybrid
• textile
• reinforced fibres
• composite
• energy absorption