Composites 26 (1995) 291 301

B UTTE
E I N
RWQR
E M A
TH
N N 9 1995 Elsevier Science Limited
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0010-4361/95/$10.00

Energy absorption in composite stiffeners

A.O. Bolukbasi
McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems, Mesa, AZ 85205-9797, USA

and D.H. Laananen*

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Arizona State University,
Tempe, AZ 85287-6106, USA
(Received 15 February 1994; revised 11 August 1994)

The energy absorption behaviour of composite stiffeners subjected to axial compression has been inves-
tigated. A semi-empirical analysis methodology has been developed for prediction of the energy absorp-
tion capability of composite stiffeners based on crush tests of flat plate specimens and an understanding
of the fundamentals of the energy absorption process. Flat plate, angle and channel specimens were fab-
ricated from T650-35/F584 graphite/epoxy plain-weave fabric using five different lay-ups that consisted
of varying percentages of 450 and 0~ plies. The specimens were crush tested under axial compression, and
measured levels of sustained crushing stress were compared with model predictions.

(Keywords: composite stiffeners; energy absorption; crush initiators)

INTRODUCTION In spite of the considerable work done on the energy

The overall objective of designing an aircraft for crash
protection is to minimize the number of injuries and
fatalities in survivable crash impacts. The crashworthy
design of aircraft involves a systems approach with the
fuselage structure, landing gear and seats working
together to absorb the aircraft kinetic energy and slow
the occupants to rest without injurious loading. An
important part of this energy absorption system is the
structure below the fuselage floor, which may absorb
up to 80% of the aircraft's kinetic energy.
Application of composite materials to aircraft fuse-
lage structures offers potentially significant weight and
cost reductions relative to metallic structures. However,
because composite materials are typically brittle and do
not exhibit either plasticity or high elongation prior to
failure, special design approaches are required to provide
energy absorption capability comparable to that of metal
structures.
The energy absorption characteristics of various com-
posite structural elements have been experimentally
studied by several researchers. Circular tube specimens
have been the most extensively studied structural
elements I s, but experiments have also been conducted
with square tubes 9J~ flat plates 11 and sine-wave
beams 12'13. The results obtained with the tube specimens
have indicated that the energy absorbed depends on such
design parameters as the material system, lay-up and
cross-section geometry. The tests have also demonstrated
that when controlled stable crushing is produced through
selection of appropriate design parameters, the compos-
ite tubes can yield a higher specific crushing efficiency
than aIuminium tubes.
* T o w h o m c o r r e s p o n d e n c e s h o u l d be a d d r e s s e d
absorption of composite materials, reliable analytical
methods are not yet available to predict the energy
absorption capability of practical composite aircraft
fuselage structures. The current practice is to conduct
expensive and time-consuming design support tests at the
element and sub-assembly level prior to fabrication of
the fuselage structure. Therefore, additional research is
needed to study the energy absorption behaviour of prac-
tical composite structural elements and to develop analy-
sis tools to support the design of composite fuselage
structures in a timely and cost-effective manner.
The objective of this research effort has been to study
the energy absorption behaviour of composite stiffeners,
specifically angle and channel sections, in order to develop
a design technique for such components. Selection of the
stiffeners over other structural elements such as sine-wave
beams or tubes was based on widespread use of such
elements in semi-monocoque fuselage structures.
The following section describes experiments that were
conducted with flat plate specimens of graphite/epoxy
composite that were crushed by uniaxial in-plane load-
ing. Axial crush tests of angle and channel stiffeners
fabricated with the same material and lay-ups are then
described. Finally, a semi-empirical analysis method,
which uses the flat plate crush test data, is described and
applied to the angle and channel stiffeners.
EXPERIMENTS
Test specimens
The crust test specimens were flat plates, angle stiff-
eners and channel stiffeners, the geometries of which are
illustrated in Figure 1. Three different lay-ups were used
for most of the specimens: [45]~0, [452/0/452]~ and

COMPOSITES Volume 26 Number 4 1995 291

Energy absorption in stiffeners: A.O. Botukbasi and D.H. Laananen

Machined
..% graphite/epoxy plain-weave fabric, the mechanical prop-
chamfer erties of which, based on material supplier data, are listed
crush
initiator
in Table 2. The cured ply thickness was -0.203 mm.
The stiffener specimens were fabricated using a male
19 19
tool, and all specimens were cured in an autoclave under
690 kPa pressure.
A crush initiator in the form of a 2.5 mm long chamfer
was machined at one end of all crush test specimens. The
150
unchamfered end of each angle and channel crush test
specimen was potted in a 25 mm deep aluminium ring
using an epoxy-based potting compound. The flat plate

I
O0
specimens were not potted but were tested in a special
test fixture that provided lateral support along the
unloaded edges.
The dimensions of the flat plate crush test specimens
were selected to fit an existing test fixture. The dimensions
J'----.... of the angle and channel stiffener crush specimens were
selected based on elastic stability analyses to ensure that
Flat plate Angle stiffener Channel stiffener these specimens, except the specimens with the [45]5
Dimensions in rnm All radii = 3 mm
lay-up, would not undergo local or global buckling during
Figure 1 Crush test specimens testing. The specimens with the [45]5 lay-up were designed
to experience limited local buckling to investigate its effect
on the energy absorption capability of the stiffeners.
[45JOJ45]~. These lay-ups, which are typical of those
As indicated in Table 1, a total of nine flat plates, five
used with fabric prepregs, were selected to contain 0-40%
angle stiffener and five channel stiffener specimens of five
0~ plies in order to evaluate their effect on the energy
different lay-ups were fabricated and tested.
absorbing capability of the laminates. Results of previ-
ous studies have indicated that stable crushing can be
Flat plate crush tests
achieved in tubes consisting entirely of bias plies, and
that the addition of some axial pries can increase the Flat plate specimens were selected for most of the
specific crush stress for graphite/epoxy laminates2. crush experiments because they are less expensive and
However, as the percentage of 0 ~ plies is increased, at easier to fabricate than other types of test specimens such
some point the failure mode may change to a less effi- as stiffeners, tubes and sine-wave beams. A simple
cient mode. The 0 e plies tend to split longitudinally coupon configuration is also desirable for practical eval-
without crushing, and the tendency towards delamina- uation of material and laminate energy absorption capa-
tion increases, with a resulting drop in specific energy bility. A problem with the fiat plate specimen is, however,
absorption capability. Hull 6 reported on the axial crush- the possibility of global buckling of the plate rather than
ing of tubes fabricated from glass cloth with various the desired failure mode of sustained crushing. The buck-
warp to weft ratios that produced a range of ratios of ling problem was eliminated by selection of the plate
hoop to axial plies. Results indicated that beyond a hoop dimensions based on elastic stability analysis and by
to axial ratio of 1:1 the initial crash load increased, but using a special text fixture that provided lateral support
the sustained crush stress was reduced. to the specimen during the test.
In addition to the 10-ply lay-ups, two channel and The flat plate specimens were loaded using a special
two angle specimens were also fabricated using [45]7 and text fixture14, which is shown in Figure 2. The fixture
[45]5 lay-ups to evaluate the effect, on the energy absorp- consisted of eight steel rods and upper and lower platens.
tion capability of the stiffener, of different width to thick- The four 25 mm diameter steel rods at the corners of the
ness aspect ratios for the stiffener web and flanges. fixture served to guide the movable upper platen. The
Lay-ups for all specimens are listed in Table 1. fixture provided lateral support to the specimen through
All specimens were fabricated using T650-35/F584 four 13 mm diameter inner steel rods located at the centre
of the platens. The inner support rods were positioned
in pairs located 38 mm apart, so that the effective
Table 1 Test specimens supported plate width was 38 mm. Each pair had a
Specimen Specimen Quantity Lay-up
number type Table 2 Material properties for T650-35/F584 graphite/epoxy plain-
weave fabric
F1 Flat plate 3 [45]~
F2 Flat plate 3 [452/0/45z]s Material property Value
F3 Flat p]ate 3 [452/02/45]~
A1 Angle 1 [45]10 Longitudinal Young's modulus, El (GPa) 70.3
A2 Angle 1 [45J0/452]s Transverse Young's modulus, E2 (GPa) 70.3
A3 Angle 1 [45j02/45]s Out-of-plane Young's modulus, E3 (GPa) 8.27
A4 Angle 1 [45]7 Poisson's ratio, v12 0.028
A5 Angle 1 [45]5 In-plane shear modulus, G~2 (GPa) 5.65
C1 Channel 1 [45]10 Longitudinal tensile strength, S, (MPa) 855
C2 Channel 1 [452/0/452]s Transverse tensile strength, S2t (MPa) 855
C3 Channel 1 [452/02/45]s Longitudinal compressive strength, $1~ (MPa) 848
C4 Channel 1 [45]7 Transverse compressive strength, $2c (MPa) 848
C5 Channel 1 [45]5 In-plane shear strength, SI2 (MPa) 152

292 COMPOSITES Volume 26 Number 4 1995

 Energy absorption in stiffeners: A.O. Bolukbasi and D.H. Laananen
Figure 2 Flat plate crush test fixture
separation of 2 mm, the specimen thickness, so that the
specimens could slide into the fixture from the side.
The load was applied to the specimens and fixture
through a 25 mm diameter steel ball which rested in a
seat that was machined in the upper platen of the fixture.
The displacement-controlled crosshead rate of the testing
machine was 1.3 mm min 1. The load and crosshead
displacement were digitally recorded during the test. The
flat plate specimens were crushed for ~38 mm.
Angle and channel stiffener crush tests
The angle and channel stiffeners were placed between
the platens of the test machine with the stiffeners free
standing on the potted ring, as shown for one of the
channel stiffeners in Figure 3. The lower surface of each
potted ring was precision machined to ensure that the
stiffener was vertically aligned between the platens. A
smooth steel plate was also placed between the upper
end of the specimens containing the failure initiator and
the movable platen of the test machine.
As in the case of the flat plate specimens, the stiffener
specimens were crushed using a displacement-controlled
crosshead rate of 1.3 mm rain i. The angle and channel
stiffener crush test specimens were crushed for ~38 and
64 ram, respectively.
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
The test results for the flat plate, angle and channel stiff-
ener crush tests consist of force and deflection values,
which were analysed to identify loads for initiation of
crushing as well as the loads associated with the sustained
crushing process for each of the specimens. In addition,
photomicrographs of the specimens were prepared to
obtain data on the delaminations and material failures
associated with the crushing process.
Figure 3 Channel stiffener crush test
Flat plate crush tests
The flat plate specimens, which are shown in Figure
4, crushed between the lateral support rods of the text
fixture in what has been called by Hull 6 a 'splaying'
mode and by Farley and Jones 8 a 'lamina bending'
mode. Each specimen tore against the lateral support
rods and exhibited a central crack, which split the plate
into a Y-shaped cross-section with multiple lamina
bundles in each leg. The crushing force was reacted
through bending and compression of the lamina
bundles.
The load versus crosshead displacement response for
specimen F2-1, which is typical of the flat plate speci-
men data, is shown in Figure 5. The response curves for
the flat plate specimens show an initial peak force asso-
ciated with initiation of the fracture process followed by
sustained crushing of the specimen. For crashworthiness
applications, it is desirable that the initial peak load
should not significantly exceed the average load during
steady crushing. The initial peak, maximum and average
crushing loads for all flat plate specimens tested are listed
in Table 3, where the initial peak load is seen to be less
than the maximum crushing load for all specimens and
is comparable to the average crushing load. This indi-
cates that the machined chamfer at one end of the
specimens was a very effective crush initiator. The exper-
imental data were also repeatable for specimens with
identical lay-ups with the exception of specimen F1-2,
which experienced a premature delamination.
A good indicator of the crushing performance is
the specific sustained crushing stress (SSCS), which is
a measure of the energy absorption capability of the
material:
SSCS = r (1)
P
COMPOSITES Volume 26 Number 4 1995 293
Energy absorption in stiffeners: A.O. Bolukbasi and D.H. Laananen

in which p is the material density and o-~:is the sustained

crushing stress given by

o'~ = ~
P~V (2)
A

where Pa,~is the average crushing load and A is the cross-

sectional area. Experimental data in Table 3 indicate that
the SSCS of the laminates tested increased with increas-
ing percentage of 0~ plies in the laminate.
To study the crush regions in more detail, the crushed
flat plate specimens were sliced using a diamond saw,
and photomicrographs of the plate segment edge surfaces
were made. Typical photomicrographs of edge surfaces
at the centre of the plate and near one of the lateral
supports are shown in Figure 6. The photomicrographs
indicate that the principal crack occurred at or close to
the centre of the cross-section. The depth of this central
crack was about twice the thickness of the plate and
tended to be longer in the middle of the plate span away
from the lateral supports. The photomicrographs also
show interlaminar cracks in the legs of the Y-shaped
cross-section, present between all plies. The depths of the
interlaminar cracks were less than that of the central
crack and extended slightly beyond the lamina surface
in contact with the crush surface.

Stiffener crush tests

Examples of crushed angle and channel stiffener spec-
imens are shown in Figures 7 and 8, respectively. Except
for specimens A5 and C5, the stiffener specimens exhib-
Figure 4 Crushed flat plate specimens: (a) side view of all specimens; ited a crushing behaviour similar to the flat plate speci-
(b) top view of specimen F2-1 mens. They tore at the corners, and each segment of the
cross-section exhibited a central crack, which split the
segment into a Y-shaped cross-section with multiple
lamina bundles on each leg.
Specimens A5 and C5 were [45]5 laminates. Due to
the greater width to thickness ratio of the flanges, these
specimens experienced limited local buckling, and their
crushing behaviour was very different from that of the
other stiffeners. The A5 and C5 specimens tore at the
corners and did not exhibit a central crack. The crush-
ing force was reacted through bending and compression
of the torn flanges as a whole. As the crushing force
increased, the flanges started to tear at the corners, and
interlaminar cracks formed within the flanges. After the
flanges were torn at the corners, the crush load decreased
Figure 5 Crush test results for specimen F2-1 slightly and the flange lamina bundles slid laterally on

Table 3 Summary of flat plate crush test results

Initial Average Maximum Sustained Specific sustained

peak load load load crush stress crush stress
Specimen (kN) (kN) (kN) (MPa) (kJ kg 1)

FI-1 15.3 14.9 19.8 144 91,1

F1-2 16.4 10.5 16.5 102 64.6
Ft-3 16.4 14.3 22.2 138 87.3
F2-1 15.1 15.4 20.9 150 94.9
F2-2 16.1 15.1 20.9 147 93.0
F2-3 15.1 15.4 20,7 149 94.3
F3-1 13.8 16.0 20,5 155 98.1
F3-2 15.3 15.4 20.4 149 94.3
F3-3 15.5 15.8 20.3 153 96.8

294 COMPOSITES Volume 26 Number 4 1995

 Energy absorption in stiffeners: A.O. Bolukbasi and D.H. Laananen
Figure 6 Photomicrographsof flat plate specimenF2-1: (a) centre of
plate; (b) near lateral support
the crush surface. As the stiffeners were crushed further,
the crush loads once again increased, and the flanges tore
further, repeating the crushing process.
The load versus crosshead displacement for the stiff-
ener specimens A2 and C2, which are typical for their
stiffener types, are shown in Figures 9 and 10. As noted
previously for the flat plate specimens, the response
curves show an initial peak force associated with initia-
tion of the crushing process, followed by sustained crush-
ing of the specimen. The initial peak, maximum and
average crushing loads, and S S C S for all angle and
channel specimens tested are listed in Tables 4 and 5,
respectively. The experimental data in Tables 4 and 5
show that the initial peak load was less than the
maximum crush load and is comparable to the average
crushing load, indicating that the crush initiator was
effective. The only exception was specimen A l, where
the initiation load was about 5% higher than the
maximum crushing load.
The S S C S values for all specimens except A5 and C5
(the [4515 lay-ups) are comparable but somewhat less
than those for the flat plate specimens. This is due to
differences in boundary conditions between the flat plate
Figure7 Crushedanglestiffenerspecimens:(a) specimenA2; (b) spec-
imen A5
test fixture and the stiffener specimens. The flat plate
specimens were supported at both edges, where they tore
as they crushed. The stiffener specimens, however, had
flanges with free edges and tore only on the corners. The
S S C S tor both the angle and channel stiffener specimens
shows an increase with increasing percentage of 0 ~ plies.
The S S C S values for specimens A5 and C5 are much
less than those of the other stiffener specimens. This indi-
cates that energy absorbed with flange bending as a
whole without the formation of a central crack is less
efficient than energy absorption in the presence of a
central crack. The formation and growth of the central
crack significantly contributes to the crushing force and,
consequently, to the energy absorbed during the crush-
ing process.
To study the crush regions in more detail, the crushed
stiffener specimens were sliced using a diamond saw, and
photomicrographs of the edge surfaces were made. The
photomicrographs of all the stiffener specimens except
specimens A5 and C5 showed failures similar to those of
the flat plates. Photomicrographs of specimens A1 and
C3, which are typical of these stiffeners, are shown in
Figures I1 and 12. The photomicrographs indicate that
the central crack occurred at or close to the middle of
the cross-section. For the channel stiffener specimens,
the depth of the central crack was about twice the thick-
ness of the stiffener and tended to be longer at the free
edge of the flange and at the centre of the web than near
the corners of the stiffener where the web and flanges
intersected.
The photomicrographs also show inter/intralaminar
cracks in the legs of the Y-shaped cross-section. The
COMPOSITES Volume 26 Number 4 1995 295
Energy absorption in stiffeners: A.O. Bolukbasi and D.H. Laananen
30

25

z
2O
/,
10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Displacement (mm)

Figure 10 Crush test result for channel stiffener specimen C2

interlaminar cracks were present between all plies. The

depths of the interlaminar cracks were less than that of
the central crack and extended slightly beyond the
lamina surface in contact with the crush surface.
Photomicrographs of specimens A5 and C5 are shown
in Figures 13 and 14. These photomicrographs indicate
that, as the flange was torn at the stiffener corner and
then was bent, interlaminar cracks were formed in the
flange between all plies, as observed in other stiffener
specimens. The section of the flange undergoing bending
and cracking was about three times the thickness of the
specimen.

Figure 8 Crushed channel stiffener specimens: (a) specimen C1;
(b) specimen C5
Figure 9 Crush test results for angle stiffener specimen A2
ANALYSIS
A semi-empirical analysis methodology, which has been
developed for use in design of energy-absorbing com-
posite structures, is based on observations of the energy
absorption process during the experimental studies, on
phenomenological failure criteria and on fiat plate crush
test data. The concept behind this analysis method is to
be able to predict the energy absorption capability of
composite structural elements such as stiffeners based on
crush tests of fiat plate specimens. The fiat plate speci-
mens are relatively easy to fabricate and test using a
specialized text fixture. Therefore, the fiat plate speci-
mens potentially can be used to reduce or eliminate costly
fabrication and testing of actual structural elements.
The energy absorption capability of composite struc-
tures is strongly dependent on the crushing mode 8.
Therefore, a fundamental requirement of the semi-
empirical analysis is that the crushing behaviour of the
structural elements being analysed should be identical
to that of the fiat plate specimens tested.
The experimental studies that were described in the
previous section have indicated that most of the angle
and channel stiffeners crushed in a lamina bending crush-
ing mode much like the fiat plate specimens. The only
exceptions were the angle and channel stiffeners of [45]5

Table 4 Summary of angle stiffener crush test results

Initial Average Maximum Sustained Specific sustained

peak load load load crush stress crush stress
Specimen (kN) (kY) (kN) (MPa) (kJ kg-~)

A1 8.90 6.23 8.90 84.9 53.7

A2 8.10 7.43 9.92 101.4 64.2
A3 8.63 7.74 10.90 105.6 66.8
A4 4.80 3.91 5.20 83.7 53.0
A5 2.31 1.19 3.87 50.7 32.1

296 COMPOSITES Volume 26 Number 4 1995

 Energy absorption in stiffeners: A.O. Bolukbasi and D.H. Laananen
Table 5 Summary of channel stiffcncr crush test results

Initial Average Maximum Sustained Specific sustained

peak load load load crush stress crush stress
Specimen (kN) (kN) (kN) (MPa) (kJ kg ~)

C1 20,(1 18,5 24.2 lt)7 67.7

C2 22.7 22,1 27.4 128 81.0
C3 18.7 22.8 27,8 132 83.5
C4 14.9 10.6 14,9 96.9 61.3
C5 7.83 5.56 8.14 63.0 39.9

Figure 12 Photomicrographs of channel stiflkner specimen C3

lqgure 11 I'hotomicrographs of angle stiffener specimen A l: (a) near (flange): (a) near free edge; (b) near corner
free edge; (b) near corner

plates 15and applied to postbuckling and crippling behav-

lay-up, which experienced local buckling and demon-
strated much lower SSCS values than other specimens.
Therefore, to ensure that the stiffeners crush in the same
mode as the fiat plate specimens, it is necessary to
develop a composite design criterion that will avoid local
buckling of the stiffener cross-section.
The design Of metal stiffeners is performed using a
crippling analysis, which predicts compression failure
due to the stress distribution associated with local buck-
ling. This type of analysis tbr isotropic materials has
traditionally been carried out using empirically derived
design curves of the form shown in Figure 15. A similar
approach has been developed for crippling of composite
iour of composite stiffeners 16'17.
To utilize the empirical crippling curves, the stiffener
cross-section is divided into a number of rectangular
plate segments of width b and thickness t with either one-
edge free or no-edge free boundary conditions.
Definitions of element dimensions and the distinctions
between one-edge and no-edge free elements for angle
and channel stiffeners are illustrated in Figure 16.
Materials properties used are the elastic modulus E
and the compressive yield strength ~roy. The parameter
r is the crippling compressive stress. If all the parame-
ters except crcc arc known, then the curves shown in
Figure 15 can be used to calculate a crippling stress value
for each element of a cross-section. The total cross-

COMPOSITES Volume 26 Number 4 1995 297

Energy absorption in stiffeners: A.O. Bolukbasi and D.H. Laananen
Figure 13 Photomicrographs of angle stiffener specimen AS: (a) near
free edge; (b) near corner
section crippling strength can then be found by a
weighted average of the contributions of the individual
elements as follows:
n nated composite materials for several reasons.
Z (cr~c)iAiE;
a,~ = i=1 (3)
Y. AiEI
i=1
where o'cc is the critical compressive stress for the total
cross-section, and A~ and Ei are the cross-sectional area
and elastic modulus associated with each individual no-
edge or one-edge free element, for which the crippling
stress is (o-=)i.
The empirical crippling curves shown in Figure 15
indicate that, for relatively thick sections which lie on
the horizontal line to the left of the empirical crippling
curve, the cross-section will experience no local buckling
and the element will fail due to a reduction in material
stiffness after yielding. For thinner cross-sections, which
lie on the sloped line to the right of the empirical crip-
pling curve, the section will experience local buckling
prior to reaching the yield strength under compressive
load.
It is possible to draw an analogy between metal and
composite stiffeners. The sustained crushing stress o'so
which was defined in equation (2) can be considered
298 COMPOSITES Volume 26 Number 4 1995
Figure 14 Photomicrographs of channel stiffener specimen C5: (a)
flange near free edge; (b) web near corner
analogous to ~rcyfor metal stiffeners. Therefore, to avoid
local buckling effects which may change the crushing
mode, it is necessary to select the stiffener element dimen-
sions so that the crippling stress lies on the horizontal
part of the empirical curve. Beyond this analogy,
however, the empirically derived crippling curves for
isotropic materials are not directly applicable for lami-
The traditional crippling curve has taken advantage
of the fact that, for an isotropic material, the stiffness
can be represented in terms of a single elastic modulus.
This simplicity is not possible for laminated composite
materials. For isotropic materials, there is also a direct
proportionality relationship between bending and exten-
sional stiffness given by the expression
~
T
~ _ _ N o Edge Free
0.8
Gc~ 0.6
Gcy 0.4
0,2
0.1
0.1 1 b O~r 10
TVT
Figure 15 Empirical crippling curves for isotropic materials
 Energy absorption in stiffeners: A.O. Bolukbasi and D.H. Laananen
,,~jb "
t and the other end was restrained by friction on the
b The effective length was then -0.7L (ref. 18), and c was
L elastic buckling of the cross-section as a whole occurs.
One-Edge Free Element No-Edge Free Eleroeot
Figure 16 Definition of one-edge and no-edge frec elements
El 3
D -
12(1 vz )
where D is the isotropic bending stiffness; E is the elastic
modulus; t is the thickness; and v is Poisson's ratio. The
relationship between the bending and extensional stiff-
nesses for a composite laminate is not as straightforward,
and the bending stiffness is defined by a 3 • 3 flexural
stiffness matrix D.
The approach taken in formulating the semi-empiri-
cal analysis model is, therefore, to develop expressions
for local buckling of the elements of the stiffener cross-
section with one-edge free and no-edge frcc boundary
conditions using the coefficients of the D matrix.
No-edge fi'ee element
A no-edge free element with a length of at least twice
the width b may be modelled as a rectangular plate
simply supported on all four edges 18. An example of such
an element is the web of the channel stiffeners tested.
The critical buckling stress for a simply supported
orthotropic plate can then be calculated by 19
Gcr
2rc2[-'D 11/9, -2 +(/912+2/966)
] (5)
where o-0~is the critical buckling stress; b is the width of
the element; and Dll, D12, D22 and D06 are coefficients of
the laminate flexural stiffness. This equation is strictly
true only for specially orthotropic laminates. However,
any balanced symmetric angle-ply laminate considered
for structural applications will be approximately ortho-
tropic, so that equation (5) will be applicable.
The critical buckling stress given by equation (5) also
does not take into account the stiffener length, other than
assuming that the length is at least twice the width of the
individual stiffener elements, but not long enough for the
stiffener to fail in global column buckling. In general, a
segment with a slenderness ratio (L'/p) less than 20 will
not be subject to column buckling, and all of the stiff-
ener specimens were designed to have a slenderness ratio
below this limit. The effective length L' in the slender-
ness ratio is defined as
L ' = L/,,,;cc
where L is the actual length and c is the fixity coefficient,
which takes into account the end support conditions.
One end of the angle and channel specimens was potted
crosshead; the end conditions were assumed to be those
of a column with one end fixed and the other end pinned.
set to a value of 2.04.
Given that equation (5) is applicable, consider a no-
edge free stiffener cross-section for which crushing occurs
at a load equal to or less than the load for which local
This case can be represented mathematically as
acr 2> 1 (7)
G~frp.
(4) fp,
where o-~ is the sustained crushing stress of the flat plate
specimen of identical material and lay-up, and ~re~is the
critical buckling stress for the one-edge free stiffener
element.
Substituting for ~r~ from equation (5) into equation
(7), the design criterion to ensure that the no-edge free
stiffener element crushes in the same mode as the flat
plate specimen, without local buckling of the cross
section as a whole, can be written as
bZt \IDI1022+(D]2 +2D66) (8)
One-edge free element
Stability analysis of the one-edge free element is
similar to that for the no-edge free element, except that
one of the edges parallel to the loading direction is free
rather than simply supported 18, Examples of one-edge
free elements are the flanges of the angle and channel
stiffeners tested. The critical buckling stress for a rectan-
gular, orthotropic plate with one free, unloaded edge is
given by 2~
12D66 tc2Dll
a~ - - - + - - (9)
b2t L'2t
where L' is the effective length given by equation (6).
Therefore, the design criterion that the one-edge free
stiffener element should crush in the same mode as the
flat plate specimen, without local buckling of the cross-
section as a whole, can be written as
a~r~
p _ 12/966 4 - Jv2Du
-- (10)
b2t L'2t
When the stiffener is designed to meet both these
criteria for the one-edge and no-edge free elements, the
experimental data indicate that the crushing modes of
the stiffeners will be identical to those for the flat plates.
However, the experimental data also indicate that the
(6) ~r~, values for one-edge free elements are less than those
for the flat plate specimens. The no-edge free elements
such as the webs of the channel specimen, on the other
hand, have o-~ very close to that of the flat plate speci-
mens. Therefore, taking into account the free edge effect,
COMPOSITES Volume 26 Number 4 1995 299
Energy absorption in stiffeners: A.O. Bolukbasi and D.H. Laananen
the sustained crushing stress O'~cfor a stiffener designed
to comply with the local buckling criteria of equations
(8) and (10) is given by the following empirical relation-
ship:
nweb nflange
A web + ~ Y~ A flange
O~ ~ --i
O-sc = O-sfP i:l i=1
A equation (11), the ~sc for the angle and channel stiffen-
where A web and A/flange a r e the areas for the stiffener web
and flange elements; nweb and nflange indicate the
numbers of each element in the cross-section; A is the
total stiffener cross-sectional area; and a and/3 are exper-
imentally determined constants.
ANALYSIS RESULTS
An analysis of the energy absorption capability of the
angle and channel stiffeners was performed using the
semi-empirical analysis method described above. The
critical buckling stresses for the web and flange elements
of the stiffeners tested were calculated using equations
(5) and (9). These critical stresses and the measured Crsc
of the corresponding fiat plate specimens with the same
lay-up are compared in Table 6. The flanges of the angle
and channel stiffeners have different critical buckling
stresses due to the fact that the angle and channel stiff-
ener lengths were different, 100 and 150 mm, respec-
tively.
The data in Table 6 indicate that, for all stiffener
elements except those with the [45]5 lay-up, the criti-
cal buckling stress O'er is greater than the fiat plate
fp
sustained crushing stress o-s~. Therefore, the semi-
empirical analysis predicts that these stiffener specimens
will crush in the same crushing mode as the fiat plate
specimens. On the other hand, for the stiffener elements
with the [45]5 lay-up, Crcris less than O'SfPC, and the analy-
sis predicts that they will suffer local buckling of the
entire cross-section and will not crush in the same mode
as the flat plate specimens. These predictions are consis-
tent with the experimental observations where all the
specimens crushed in the same mode as the flat plate
specimens except those with the [45]5 lay-up, which
buckled locally.
The energy absorption capability of the stiffeners that
have crushed in the same mode as the fiat plate speci-
mens can be calculated using equation (11), provided
that the coefficients o~and/3 have been determined. Using
the values of a -- 0.978 and /3 -- 0.680 determined by
(11) multiple linear regression of experimental data 22 and
ers were calculated and are shown in Table 7.
To evaluate the accuracy of the semi-empirical
method to predict the energy absorption capability of
the stiffeners using equation (11), a statistical error
analysis of the data presented in Table 7 was performed.
The average spread of the experimentally measured
sustained crushing stress from that predicted by the
multiple linear regression analysis of the semi-empirical
method is 2.52 MPa, which represents less than 3% vari-
ation between test and analysis data. A coefficient of
determination of 0.988 indicates that 98.8% of the orig-
inal uncertainty in the data has been explained by the
semi-empirical model using a multiple linear regression
analysis. These results support the conclusion that the
semi-empirical analysis method provides an accurate
means of predicting the energy absorption capability of
composite stiffeners.
CONCLUSIONS
The angle and channel stiffeners fabricated using T650-
35/F584 plain-weave graphite/epoxy fabric material with
Table 7 Sustained crushing stress for angle and channel stiffeners
Sustained crushing stress, cr~c(MPa)
Specimen no. Test Analysis
A1 84.9 87.2
A2 101 101
A3 106 104
C1 107 110
C2 128 127
C3 132 131

Table 6 Critical buckling stress for stiffener web and flange elements

Element critical Flat plate sustained

Stiffener buckling stress, o'er crushing stress, o~
element Lay-up (MPa) (MPa)

Web [45]10 370 128

Flange (angle) [45h0 438 128
Flange (channel) [45]10 406 128
Web [45d0/452]s 348 148
Flange (angle) [452/0/452]s 395 148
Flange (channel) [452/0/452]s 360 148
Web [452/0J45]s 339 152
Flange (angle) [45d0d45]s 379 152
Flange (channel) [45d0d45]s 360 152
Web [45]7 182 128
Flange (angle) [45]7 215 128
Flange (channel) [45]7 199 128
Web [45]5 92.7 128
Flange (angle) [45]5 110 128
Flange (channel) [45]5 102 128

300 COMPOSITES Volume 26 Number 4 1995

 Energy absorption in stiffeners: A.O. Bolukbasi and D.H. Laananen
[45110, [45]7, [452/0/452]s and [45J02/45]s lay-ups all
crushed in a lamina bending mode similar to the flat plate
specimens of the same lay-ups. The stiffeners with the
[45]5 lay-up and fabricated using the same material
crushed in a local buckling mode and demonstrated an
SSCS much lower than the other stiffeners. The SSCS
values of the flat angle and channel specimens tested
showed an increase with increasing number of 0 ~ plies
in the laminate. However, the SSCS values for all stiff-
eners were lower than those of the flat plate specimens
with identical lay-ups.
The failure initiator, in the form of a 2.5 mm long
chamfer machined at one of all crush specimens, was
very effective. The initial peak crush loads for most
specimens were at or below the maximum crush loads
recorded during the sustained crushing phase of the
specimens.
Using the criterion that the sustained crushing stress
~rsc for the web and flange elements of the stiffener be
less than a critical buckling stress ~rcr,the semi-empirical
model successfully predicted that all stiffeners except the
stiffeners with [45]5 would crush in a lamina bending
mode similar to the flat plate specimens. These predic-
tions were consistent with the experimental observations.
The semi-empirical analysis method was also used to
predict the energy absorption capability of the stiffeners
based on data from flat plate crush tests of identical lay-
ups and multiple regression analysis. The multiple regres-
sion analysis successfully accounted for the free edge
effects associated with stiffeners, and the predicted
energy absorption capability was within 3% of the stiff-
ener crush test results. The flat plate specimens are rela-
tively easy to fabricate and test using a special test fixture.
Therefore, the semi-empirical analysis method along
with flat plate crush test data can potentially be used to
eliminate or reduce costly fabrication and crush testing
of actual composite structural elements.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors wish to acknowledge the assistance of
Professor J. Morton of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
State University, in whose laboratory the fiat plate crush
tests were conducted.
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COMPOSITES Volume 26 Number 4 1995 301