Capacità di assorbimento assiale di strutture tronco coniche in materiale composito

In recent years, the ever-wider use of composite materials for structural applications in the automotive industry makes it necessary to predict their behavior under varying load conditions. Where the intended use is the axial energy absorption, such structures take the shape of thin walled tubes of circular cross section made with prepreg fabrics. The present work fits within this context, with the intention of analyzing, starting from an experimental point of view, the behavior of composite structures with truncated conical geometry varying some geometric parameters, such as the resistant section and the slope, under quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions. The used material for this research is a prepreg obtained by high-strength carbon fibers embedded in an epoxy resin. Variations of load and final crushing at various geometric parameters and loading conditions were evaluated.