Effect of geometry on the crushing behaviour of laminated corrugated composite tubes

This paper is devoted to study the effect of corrugation geometry on the crushing behavior, energy absorption, failure mechanism, and failure mode of woven roving glass fibre/epoxy laminated composite tubes. A comprehensive experimental program has been carried out on two geometrically different types of composite tubes subjected to axial compressive loading conditions. A cylindrical composite tube has been fabricated and tested in order to provide a means of comparison with corrugated composite tube. Both are tested under the same condition to establish the effect of corrugation geometry. The results showed that the initial failure was dominated by interfacial failure, while a folded zone grows progressively down in a form of mushrooming failure. The results also showed that radial corrugated composite tube (RCCT) exhibited good energy absorption capability than circular composite tube (CCT).