Research of Design Method of Crash Box Made by Thermoplastic GFRP

Abstract

Through researching thermoplastic Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic (GFRTP) crash box, we acquired knowledge to design front bumper beam system with load characteristic equal to metal structure. A GFRTP crash box is more efficient to absorb energy than steel one, so we can contribute to lightweight and small packaging of automobile. In this paper we show a development of crash box in front bumper beam made by woven fabric and random mat GFRTP with lightweight and high energy absorption. We paid our attention to compression load by ridgeline of crash box in progressive crash mode. Through researching structure and method of projecting load characteristic of GFRTP crash box, we propose a design method and confirm performance by a trolley test.