Influence of Plying Strategies and Trigger Type on Crashworthiness Properties of Carbon Fiber Laminates Cured through Autoclave Processing

Abstract

A small-scale experimental test able to characterize the energy absorption of a material under compression was developed by innovatively introducing self-supporting sinusoidal shape specimens, thus avoiding the complex anti-buckling devices of classical flat specimen tests. Two carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) pre-preg types were tested: 12 plies of unidirectional tape or 8 plies of plain weave fabric for a laminate approximately 1.8 mm thick in both cases. Three stacking sequences were analysed, in order to identify the configuration able to maximize the specific energy absorption (SEA), i.e. the energy absorbed per unit mass of crushed structure is expressed in J/g, with the unidirectional specimen providing the best results.