Session: 01-06-01: Impact, Fatigue, Damage and Fracture of Composite Structures

Paper Number: 137407

137407 - Advanced Energy Mitigation Mechanism of Liquid Suspension of Hollow Glass Microsphere Reinforced Thin-Walled Tube 

Thin-walled tubes are widely utilized as energy absorption structures in various fields such as automotive and aerospace, industries due to their lightweight nature, high energy absorption efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. The energy absorption efficiency of thin-walled structures have not maximized yet because of the deviation between the high initial peak force and low mean crushing force. Solid foams (e.g. aluminum and polymeric foams) have been used as fillers to close this gap. Although the energy absorption efficiency of the resulted composite tubes is improved, interfacial failure occurs and the filler-tube wall interaction is weakened during the crushing process.

To tackle this challenge, liquid suspension of hollow glass microsphere (SHGM) has been employed as a new type of filler for thin-walled tubes in this study. SHGM is composed of hollow glass microspheres and DI water. The axial crushing behavior of WGM-filled tubes has been evaluated by a series of quasi-static compression tests as well as dynamic drop weight impact tests. Owing to the inherent fluidity and compressibility, the SHGM filler establishes stabilized and seamless interaction with the tube wall throughout the deformation process.

It is demonstrated that the use of SHGM filler substantially enhances the specific energy absorption (SEA) of the resulted composite tube by 43% under quasi-static compression and 41% under dynamic impact, in comparison to an empty tube. This improvement in SEA is attributed to the significantly enhanced interaction between the SHGM filler and the tube wall, as well as the high energy absorption capacity of the SHGM. The enhanced interaction between the SHGM filler and the tube wall in the composite tube is quantified by the strengthening coefficient. The tube filled with SHGM has a value of 4.0, which is considerably higher than that observed in tubes filled with solid foams.

In summary, these results show that the SHGM is a superior fluidic filling material for thin-walled structures and represent a paradigm shift in the design of next generation lightweight composite structures for energy absorption applications.

Presenting Author: Weiyi Lu Michigan State University

Presenting Author Biography: Dr. Weiyi Lu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Michigan State University. He is also affiliated with the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at MSU. He received his Ph.D. in Structural Engineering at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in 2011 and performed postdoctoral studies in the Department of Structural Engineering at UCSD from 2011 to 2014.

Dr. Lu's research is focused on the fundamental science and novel applications of advanced fluid-based composite materials and structures. Dr. Lu developed liquid nanofoam (LN) and LN-functionalized materials, and aims to understand the underlying mechanisms for their unique properties, including the nanoscale liquid flow and the strong solid-liquid interaction in LN-functionalized materials at multiple length scales.