Effect of exposure temperature on thecrashworthiness of carbon/epoxy compositerectangular tubes under quasi-static compression

The exposure of polymeric composites to thermal loading is a ubiquitous problem thatleads to the degradation of mechanical properties, reducing the service life of an engineered structure, and potentially premature, catastrophic modes of failure. In the current paper, an experimental studyis presented in order to investigate the effect of thermal exposure on the crushing performance ofcarbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) composite tubes. Specimens of rectangular tubes are subjectedto thermal exposure at 90, 120, 150 and 180°C before being crushed under quasi-static loading. The results showed a reduction in the peak load by increasing the aging temperature up toC, which is followed by an increase in the peak load at 150°C, due to post-curing. For the energyabsorbed and the specific energy, a sharp reduction is recorded (up to 70% reduction) due to thermalaging. These results showed that the effect of thermal exposure on crashworthiness needs moreattention during composites' design, especially for transportation applications.