Effect of natural stitched composites on the crashworthiness of box structures

In the present paper the effects of stitching on the energy absorption and crashworthy behaviour of composite box structures will be studied. The combination of unidirectional carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) and glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite materials are used to laminate the composite boxes. Delamination study in Mode-I with the same lay-up was carried out to investigate the effect of stitching on delamination crack growth on energy absorption of stitched and non-stitched composite box structures. The double cantilever beam (DCB) standard test method was chosen for delamination studies. For non-stitched and stitched composite boxes the lamina bending and brittle fracture crushing modes were observed. It was found that the stitched composite boxes which show higher fracture toughness in Mode-I delamination tests, are not necessarily able to absorb more crushing energy in comparison with non-stitched composite boxes. It was also observed that the position of stitched area can affect the crushing mode and consequently energy absorption capability of composite box structures. The main reason can be related to other mechanisms such as bending, friction and bundle fracture which significantly contribute to energy absorption. The analytical model based on energy balance approach is proposed to estimate the mean crushing force, Fm, in axial crushing of square composite box.