The effect of stacking sequences on energy absorption in axial crushing of CFRP stanchions for the cargo floor structure of airplanes

One of the remaining challenges for advancing the wide application of composite materials is to further improve the mechanical properties of composites. The fiber/matrix damage phenomenon produced by the composite model under axial loading has been observed through the establishment of a numerical model of composite damage. Axial crush tests have been performed on C-type carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) stanchions for the cargo floor structure of transport category airplanes using a finite element approach. The failure morphology and crashworthiness parameters of the specimens with different fiber layups have been recorded, and the effects of fiber orientation and angle of entrapment on the crashworthiness of the composites have been investigated. The present study demonstrates that the crashworthiness of composites can be effectively improved by fiber orientation design. Appropriate addition of 45 degrees layer and 90 degrees layer can effectively improve the crashworthiness of C-type CFRP laminates, and the performance of the two-angle and spiral laminates design is improved by 26% and 19%, respectively.