Design and Comparative Structural Analysis of Aluminum-Based Hybrid Hollow Drive Shafts using GFRP and CFRP

This paper presents a comparative study of two hybrid hollow drive shaft configurations using Aluminum 2024-T6 as the outer shell material and GFRP or CFRP as the inner core. The goal is to evaluate which composite material provides better mechanical performance under static torsional loading. CAD models were developed using CATIA, and simulations were performed in ANSYS Workbench (Student Version). The results revealed that Al + CFRP shafts exhibit superior stiffness and lower deformation, while Al + GFRP shafts offer better damping at lower cost. This study demonstrates the feasibility of hybrid composite shafts as replacements for conventional steel drive shafts in mechanical systems.