An experimental investigation into crashworthiness of filament wound intra-yarn hybrid glass/jute epoxy composites tubes under quasi-static axial and lateral compression

Abstract

The increasing demand for sustainable materials in the automotive industry has driven the research towards exploration of natural fiber composites for crash structures. This study investigates the quasi-static axial and lateral crushing behavior of hybrid glass/jute fiber epoxy tubes. Intra-yarn hybrid mixing ratios of jute and glass fibers were tested to evaluate the feasibility of using natural fibers as eco-friendly alternatives to traditional synthetic composites. A total of five different configurations were fabricated using filament winding process. The experimental results were analyzed for collapsing behavior, failure modes, and energy absorption characteristics. The hybrid epoxy tubes revealed fiber-matrix fracturing, local buckling, and delamination as three primary failure modes under crushing tests. The hybrid configuration with 25 % jute fiber and 75 % glass fiber demonstrated optimal crashworthiness performance, achieving the highest specific energy absorption (SEA) values of 15.85 J/g under axial loading and 2.96 J/g under lateral loading. The configurations with higher jute content of 50 % and 75 %, showed decreasing SEA and crush force efficiency (CFE) values, with brittle fracturing and delamination as dominant failure modes, indicating a trade-off between weight and energy absorption efficiency. The neat glass fiber configuration maintained nearly consistent CFE values of 0.55 and 0.56, between axial and lateral loadings respectively, demonstrating isotropic behavior in energy absorption. Conversely, the neat jute fiber configuration improved SEA to 12.14 J/g under axial loading but exhibited significant limitations under lateral loading, with SEA decreasing to 0.69 J/g. Visual examination of crushed samples highlighted local buckling in GF configurations and brittle fracturing in hybrid and neat jute fiber configurations. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis provided detailed insights into the microstructural characteristics and failure mechanisms, highlighting the inter-laminar debonding between the jute and glass fibers in hybrid configuration. By evaluating the combined effects of hybridization and loading conditions, the present study contributes to developing eco-friendly and efficient materials for automotive safety, aligning with industry sustainability goals.