Bending of fibre-reinforced composite thin-walled tubes

Abstract The present paper reports on the bending of thin-walled fibre-reinforced composite circular tubes under certain end-clamping conditions, simulating the oblique collision of structural elements of impacted vehicles. The fracture mechanism of the crushed composite tubes is quite different from that of metallic components loaded under the same conditions. Energy absorption in the present case is achieved by material fragmentation; i.e., the mechanism of fracture dominates the phenomenon, rather than plastic deformation. The effect of clamping conditions on the energy absorbing efficiency of the shell is also examined.