Investigating the quasi-static axial crushing behavior of polymeric foam-filled composite pultrusion square tubes

• The CFE values increases together with polymeric foam core and its density.
• Higher CFE indicates the progressive failure occurred on to the specimen.
• Specific energy absorption was improved with polymeric foam core.
• The polymeric foam is vital to determine energy absorption capabilities.
• Finally, the crashworthiness properties of pultruded tubes can be enhanced.

The capability of structures to absorb large amounts of energy is a crucial factor, particularly for structural components of vehicles, in reducing injury in case of collision. In this study, an experimental investigation was conducted to study the crashworthiness of polymeric foam-filled structures to the pultruded square cross-section E-Glass fiber-reinforced polyester composite tube profiles. Quasi-static compression was applied axially to composite tubes to determine the response of the quasi-static load displacement curve during progressive damage. Three pultruded composite tube wall thicknesses at different sizes were examined, and the effects of crushing behavior and failure modes were analyzed and discussed. Experimental results indicated that the foam-filled profile is superior to the non-filled foam composite tube profile in terms of the capacity to absorb specific energy.