Crashworthiness analysis of glass fibre/epoxy laminated thin walled composite conical frusta under axial compression

The quasi-static axial compression of thin-walled E-glass fibre/epoxy resin reinforced (GFRP) composite conical frusta was carried out to study the crashworthiness of conical shells. The hollow frustrated E-glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) conical specimens having semi-apical angle ranging from 15° to 27° were fabricated using random ply chopped, plain woven roving cross ply [0/90], and uni-directional angle ply [±60°] oriented mats to the required dimensions by hand layup process. Quasi-static axial compression load was applied over the small end of the conical specimen with a crosshead speed of 2 mm/min using Universal Testing Machine (UTM). From the experiment results, the load deformation characteristics of thin GFRP composite conical shells were analyzed and the results were validated through finite element analysis package ABAQUS®. Further, the influence of ply orientation and the laminate wall thickness towards the energy absorbing capability of each GFRP conical specimen was studied. The buckling mode of collapse and the crushed zones of GFRP composite conical shells were also investigated to identify the collapse mechanisms involved in thin fibre/resin composite laminated conical specimens under quasi-static axial compression.