Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper presents a novel carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) crash box design, incorporating numerical analysis and manufacturing aspects. Within the design and analysis phases, a novel numerical methodology is employed to mitigate computational costs in estimating specific energy absorption (SEA). The proposed approach involves a reduction in ply interfaces and modification of pertinent material properties to optimize energy dissipation, achieving more than 50% reduction in simulation time. This methodology is applied to the design of a composite crash box made of unidirectional (UD) carbon/epoxy prepregs, resulting in a new geometry: sun-like shape featuring four sinusoidal arms connected to a central circular core. Subsequent manufacturing and testing reveal a SEA value of 79.46 J/g for designed geometry, surpassing metallic counterparts by a factor of 3 to 4. Furthermore, this study conducts a comparative analysis of energy absorption performance between unidirectional and woven fabric prepregs for the same geometry. Utilizing carbon/epoxy woven fabric (WF) prepregs further enhances the SEA to 89.26 J/g. Finally, the application of edge tapering to the crash box structure is shown to eliminate initial peak loads, thereby preventing excessive deceleration.
Source: Journal of Composites Science
DOI: 10.3390/jcs10020085
Authors: Mehmet Engul, Serdar Demir, Nuri Ersoy
Institutions: Boğaziçi University, Virginia Tech, Yıldız Technical University
Language: English
Subfield: Mechanical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,172
Funder: Boğaziçi Üniversitesi
OpenAlex ID: W7128164485