Finite Element Analysis on Hydroforming of CFRP/SS304 Composite Tube with different Fiber Orientation Stacking Sequence

Abstract

In this paper, a finite element-based approach to the tube hydroforming process of SS304/CFRP material with different stacking sequences was performed in an effort to reveal the failure phases at different stacking angles. The effort to produce hybrid composite tubes through tube hydroforming with composite reinforcement resulted in laminate failure at all the proposed fiber orientation angles. A comparative study of strain energy dissipation at these different stacking angles is further presented. The results show that the 0⁰/90⁰ stacking is considered the strongest stacking angle requiring the least strain energy absorption to initial failure of approximately 50 % more as compared to the ±30⁰ and ±60⁰ stacking angles. The proposed method was more adequate for predicting the strain energy, matrix deformation, and fiber damage when simulating the events.