Energy absorption capability of laterally loaded glass/epoxy tubular components containing halloysite nanotubes

Abstract

The crashworthiness capability of laterally loaded glass/epoxy (GFRE) tubular components containing halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) was explored in this article. GFRE components filled with 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 weight percent (wt.%) of HNTs were created using wet-wrapping by hand lay-up technique. For the laterally loaded tubes, the crushing load and the energy absorption versus displacement responses were presented. In addition, distortion histories were tracked. The crashworthiness analysis was carried out by evaluating different indicators, i.e., initial crush load [Formula: see text], average crush load ([Formula: see text]), crush load efficiency (CFE), energy absorption (U), and specific absorbed energy (SEA). Two parameters of the Weibull distribution were employed to assess the experimental findings statistically. In addition, mathematical regression models were built to predict the energy absorption indicators. Experimental results demonstrated that an unfilled tube demonstrated the largest CFE of 1.84, while the maximum [Formula: see text] was demonstrated by a tube filled with 2 wt.% of HNTs with a value of 3.70 kN. Additionally, the tube filled with 4 wt.% of HNTs represents the extremes [Formula: see text], U, and SEA with values of 4.26 kN, 128.82 J, and 3.84 J/g, respectively. Due to their improved crashworthiness characteristics, GFRE filled with 4 wt.% of HNTs is suitable for use as a crashworthy device in automobiles.