POLYMER ENGINEERING: Research on composite materials at Liverpool University, Part 2: Energy absorbing composite materials

The ability of a composite material to absorb energy in its bulk rather than at the tip of a crack is very important when such materials are used in the automobile industry, for example to protect passengers from the consequences of high speed impact under crash conditions. Part 2 of this article describes research into the design and fabrication of tubes made of composite materials and into their collapse process