Automotive components made from advanced composite materials result in significant weight savings over steel and aluminum. However, already a few components have been developed in composite materials which have been unsuccessful in meeting the requirement s. Not all components can successfully be designed from advanced composite materials.
One of the problem areas is the application involving torsion members. Specifically those applications where torsional shear strength, shear fatigue, or shear strain are limiting factors. In automotive components this includes torsion bars, coil springs, and the shorter drive shafts.
In this paper the strain limitations of advanced composites are compared to other materials and this effect demonstrated in the design of a torsion bar.
A parametric analysis will be shown which will directly indicate when, for a particular application, advanced composite materials can or cannot be utilized.