Abstract
Composite tubes are highly encouraged in energy absorption applications due to its capability to consume the energy in several controlled damage mechanisms, in addition to its lightweight characteristics. This paper addresses the possibility to strengthen the CFRP tubes with different structures before filling it in with PU foam. The strengthening structures were made of CFRP with different geometrical configurations. The specimens were tested under quasi-static crushing, and the data were treated to assess the crashworthiness based on the different parameters. The results showed that tubes with a smaller cross-section were of high advantage, compared to the ones with a large cross-section. In addition, all the strengthening strategies adopted were successful in increasing the peak load, the crush force efficiency, and the energy absorption. The improvement in the energy absorption and the specific energy absorbed was up to 480% and 200%, respectively, which supports the use of such strengthening techniques in energy absorption applications.