Stamping of high performance thermoplastic composite intrusion beams

In this study, an experimental investigation was performed to evaluate the potential of thermoplastic composites to be used for the fabrication of an automotive intrusion beam using the composite stamping process. To assess the potential of this technology, mechanical properties of several high performance thermoplastic composite materials were first evaluated on coupons. Due to their higher load and displacement at failure, the most promising materials for the fabrication of a composite intrusion beam were found to be glass fibre/polypropylene (GF/PP) and carbon fibre/polyamide 66 (CF/PA66) laminates. Then, stamped intrusion beams were manufactured from these composites using three different stacking sequences. The beams were later tested under three-point flexural loading. For all components, failure occurred at the attachment points. However, higher properties were obtained for ± 45 laminates for which shear-out failure could be avoided. From the load-displacement curves obtained, it can nevertheless be concluded that stamping of thermoplastic composites is promising for the fabrication of intrusion beams, but that further development will be required to avoid failure at the attachment points. (paper)