Energy Absorption of Additively Manufactured Lattices: On biomimetic abstraction of structural principles toward increased energy absorption in lattice structures

Cellular solids are characteristically excellent energy absorbers due to their capacity to store large amounts of energy through compression. A bioinspired design approach identified the Pomelo fruit (Citrus Maximus) as a biological role model for energy absorption. Fruit peels’ biologically most important functions lies in the need to provide...

Strain Rate Dependen 3-Point Bending Test and Simulation of a Unidirectional Carbon/Epoxy Composite

In order to use composite materials in automotive production while ensuring that passengers safety it is crucial to fully understand the strain rate effect on their mechanical properties.This study implements a strain rate dependent 3-point bending test setup for a high rate servo-hydraulic testing machine. A finite element model to simulate...

Modelling Delaminations in Composite Panels: Including Novel Theories for Post-Buckling and Delamination Growth

Even though composite materials are being applied more and more often, these materials are often not used to their full potential. In particular, composite materials are very sensitive to Compression-After-Impact (CAI), typically leading to knockdown factors in the order of 0.65. Many researchers have tried to predict the effects of Compression...

Experimental and numerical characterization of impact on composites for automotive applications

Following the EU-28 targets, in 2050 a reduction in total energy consumption of 70% compared to the 2008 consumption is required driven by weight reduction in the road transportation industry. Because of the high specific strength and stiffness of composite materials, introduction of advanced composites in the vehicle design is observed. However...