Buckling Characteristics of Different Cross-Sectioned LGFR-PP Stiffeners under Axial Compression

Abstract

Long glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene (LGFR-PP) composite structures with stiffeners are important substitutes for metal parts for vehicle lightweighting; a good understanding of the buckling characteristics of LGFR-PP stiffeners would provide an important reference for engineering design. The current work is therefore intended to study the buckling characteristics of different cross-sectioned LGFR-PP stiffeners under axial compression via experimental and theoretical analysis. Firstly, LGFR-PP stiffeners with semicircular, rectangular, and trapeziform cross-sections were compressed at the axial direction using a universal testing machine to obtain the buckling process data. Then, the elasticity stability theory modified according to the experimental results was derived to estimate the buckling resistance of LGFR-PP stiffeners in different designs. The test results showed that the LGFR-PP stiffeners possessed a flexible–torsional bulking instability mode under axial compression, the LGFR-PP stiffeners with a semicircular cross-section had higher compression buckling resistance, and the rectangular and trapeziform cross-sectioned stiffeners had better rigidity. The theoretical analysis showed that the modified elasticity stability theory could generally predict the buckling resistance of LGFR-PP stiffeners under axial compression.