Energy Absorption Properties of Braided Glass Fiber Rod-Reinforced Carboard Panels

Abstract

This paper investigates the quasi-static compression properties of cardboard panels reinforced with braided glass fiber rods manufactured using a tubular braiding machine. Compression tests are performed on glass fiber rods without any cardboard material first, and the specific energy absorption of rods with and without a taper angle is compared. Braided rods with a taper show much better progressive crushing than those without and have a specific energy absorption that is approximately 1.5 times larger. The rods are then inserted in a single layer of cardboard 3 cm × 3 cm and cases involving one, four, and five rods are investigated. The cardboard is observed to constrain the rods from excessive splaying, causing greater levels of fiber fragmentation which consumes more energy compared with rods without cardboard. Compression testing is also performed on panels made from two layers of cardboard, reinforced with longer rods. The crushing results of single-layer panels show more progressive crushing than those of two-layer panels where the longer rods become inclined from the direction of applied load due to deformation of the surrounding cardboard resulting in reduced crushing performance.