Effect of fibre orientation on the quasi-static axial crushing behaviour of glass fibre reinforced polyvinyl chloride composite tubes

Abstract

In this study, glass fibre reinforced (GFRP) polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tubes were subjected to quasi-static axial compression tests to determine their crashworthiness performance. To this end, this study employed GFRP/PVC tubes with four different fibre orientations, 45◦, 55◦, 65◦ and 90◦. A five-axis filament winding machine was used to fabricate the tubes. The results show that there was a considerable increase in all crashworthiness characteristics due to GFRP reinforcement. For the GFRP/PVC composite tubes of different fibre orientations, the load-bearing capacity, crush force efficiency and energy absorption capability generally improve with increasing fibre orientation. The GFRP/PVC 45◦ specimen was a notable exception as it exhibited the best specific energy absorption capacity and a crushing force efficiency that was only slightly less than for the GFRP/PVC 90◦ specimen.