Gradient-degraded material-induced trigger to improve crashworthiness of composite tubes in a controlled manner

A type of gradient-degraded material-induced trigger has a greater potential to induce a progressive crushing mode in a controlled manner to reduce the initial crushing load and increase the specific energy absorption. Thus, different material degradation strategy-based triggers are designed to improve the crashworthiness of composite tubes. To understand the triggering mechanisms, effects of height of trigger and level of degradation are...