Crashworthiness and numerical simulation of hybrid aluminium-CFRP tubes under axial impact

In the present study, the crashworthiness and the numerical simulation of circular hybrid aluminium-CFRP tubes are investigated. It can be shown that hybrids provide significant lightweight potential. The specific energy absorption is 37% higher compared to a pure aluminium structure. The post-crash analysis is done by computed tomography methods. The failure of the hybrid component shows a mixture of energy absorption mechanisms of its pure materials. Hybrid-specific energy absorption mechanisms compensate the limited primary energy absorption mechanisms of the CFRP and metal components. The simulation of axial-loaded composite structures is challenging the currently available simulation methods. In the present work, a multi shell model is used for the simulation of the hybrid structure. This approach enables an efficient design of CFRP-aluminium hybrid components. First approaches towards the simulation of hybrid specific failure modes are given.