Crashworthiness characteristics of a carbon fiber reinforced dual-phase epoxy-polyurea hybrid matrix composite

Hongyu Zhou, Thomas L. Attard, Kittinan Dhiradhamvit, Yanli Wang, Donald Erdman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

36 Scopus citations

Abstract

The crashworthiness characteristics of rectangular tubes made from a Carbon-fiber reinforced Hybrid-Polymeric Matrix (CHMC) composite were investigated using quasi-static and impact crush tests. The hybrid matrix formulation of the CHMC was created by combining an epoxy-based thermosetting polymer with a lightly crosslinked polyurea elastomer at various cure-time intervals and volumetric ratios. The load-displacement responses of both CHMC and carbon-fiber reinforced epoxy (CF/epoxy) specimens were obtained under various crushing speeds; and crashworthiness parameters, such as the average crushing force and specific energy absorption (SEA), were calculated using subsequent load-displacement relationships. The CHMC maintained a high level of structural integrity and post-crush performance, relative to traditional CF/epoxy. The influence of the curing time and volumetric ratios of the polyurea/epoxy dual-hybridized matrix system on the crashworthiness parameters was also investigated. The results reveal that the load carrying capacity and total energy absorption tend to increase with greater polyurea thickness and lower elapsed reaction curing time of the epoxy although this is typically a function of the loading rate. Finally, the mechanism by which the CHMC provides increased damage tolerance was also investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)17-27
Number of pages11
JournalComposites Part B: Engineering
Volume71
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2015

Funding

This research was partially supported by the Department of Homeland Security through the Higher Education Research Experience (HERE) Program, and the Southeast Region Research Initiative (SERRI) at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), DHS Project No. 90300. This research through the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s High Temperature Materials Laboratory User Program was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Vehicle Technologies Program .

Keywords

  • A. Hybrid
  • A. Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs)
  • B. Damage tolerance
  • B. Impact behavior
  • Polyurea

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