Lean methods for energy absorption computation of thin -walled composite tubes

CFRP (Carbon fiber reinforced polymer) based composites are being widely used as materials in the trans- portation domain for vehicular structures as energy -absorbing devices due to their high specific energy absorption ability. The design process which is iterative for the designs with such anisotropic materials requires several material parameters for the design validation using empirical or numerical techniques. In the absence of design calculations, the design validation which needs to be done using experimental techniques which would also require very capital -intensive equipment like high-speed cameras, to assess the damage evolution behaviour. The current study surveys different damage evolution methodologies available in the literature for composites and suggests a methodology that requires lean material data. The study also highlights the methods to estimate the dynamic forces in CFRP based structures, using quasi -static study results. The proposed methods can be effectively used for evaluation and comparison of multiple intermediate designs and shortens the product development cycle. The proposed methods are applied to thin tubular composite designs subjected to impact loads, whose design intent is to absorb the energy. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer -review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the First International con- ference on Advanced Lightweight Materials and Structures.