Experimental study on the parameters affecting behavior of glass/epoxy composite tubes under axial impact loading

Composite tubes may be subjected to impact loads during placement or operation. By determining the impact properties of composite tubes and using them in the design process, the accuracy of the behavior of these structures in the loading condition is guaranteed. In this study, the behavior of glass/epoxy composite tubes under dynamic axial loading was experimentally investigated. Also, the effects of parameters such as fiber density, fiber alignment angle, internal diameter of the tube and impact energy on the amount of pipe damage were also studied. To prepare composite specimens, E-type glass fiber was used with two different densities of 200 gr⁄m^2 and 400 gr⁄m^2 . The specimens were placed on a drop weight machine of Tafresh University by a fixture, and the Impactor was released from the height of 2 meters. The force -displacement diagrams for each test were extracted and compared with each other. Also, a parameter called specific energy absorption was calculated for all samples in order to compare the efficiency of the samples as energy absorber. The results of this study showed that increasing the fiber density, number of layers and diameter of the tube increases the specific energy absorption. It was also observed that with the increase of the axial dynamic impact energy, the mechanical properties of the specimen will be changed and the specimen will be firmly established.