Investigating the quasi-static axial crushing behavior of polymeric foam-filled composite pultrusion square tubes

The concerns of automotive safety have been given special attention in order to reduce human fatalities or injuries. One of the techniques to reduce collision impact or compression energy is by filling polymeric foam into metallic tubes. In this work, polyurethane foam was introduced into the steel extrusion tubes and quasi-statically compressed at constant cross-head displacement. Different tube thicknesses and foam densities were used and these parameters were related to the crashworthiness aspect of the foam-filled structures. It is found that both tube thickness and foam density played an important role in increasing the crashworthiness behaviours of the structures but when the tube thickness reached certain value, foam density unable to properly work in increasing the energy absorption of the structures.

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Energy Absorption of Aluminium Extrusions Filled with Cellular Materials Under Axial Crushing: Study of the Interaction Effect

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app10238510 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (23) ◽

pp. 8510

Author(s):

Javier Paz ◽

Miguel Costas ◽

Jordi Delgado ◽

Luis Romera ◽

Jacobo Díaz

Keyword(s):

Energy Dissipation ◽

Cross Sections ◽

Interaction Effect ◽

Unit Volume ◽

Variable Cross Section ◽

Variable Cross ◽

Polymeric Foam ◽

Axial Crushing ◽

Foam Filled ◽

Thin Walled

This investigation focuses on the interaction effect during the quasi-static axial crushing of circular and square thin-walled aluminium extrusions filled with polymeric foam or cork. The increment in the absorbed energy due to interactions between materials was assessed using a validated numerical model calibrated with experimental material data. Simulations were run with variable cross-section dimensions, thickness, and foam density. The results were used to adjust the parameters of design formulas to predict the average crush forces of foam- and cork-filled thin-walled tubes. The analysis of the energy dissipation per unit volume revealed that the highest increments due to the interaction between materials appeared in the foam-filled square extrusions. Energy dissipation increased with higher density foams for both cross-sections due to a stronger constraint of the aluminium walls, and thus a reduction of the folding length. Thinner tube walls also delivered a higher improvement in the energy dissipation per unit volume than those with thicker walls. The contribution of friction was also quantified and investigated.

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On the Crushing Behavior of Foam-Filled Composite Tubes under Compressive Loading

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.626.1038 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 626 ◽

pp. 1038-1041 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Akbar Othman ◽

Shahrum Abdullah ◽

Ahmad Kamal Ariffin ◽

Nik Abdullah Nik Mohamed ◽

Helmi Rashid

Keyword(s):

Energy Absorption ◽

Wall Thickness ◽

Peak Load ◽

Compressive Loading ◽

Absorbed Energy ◽

Polymeric Foam ◽

Foam Filled ◽

Marine Applications ◽

Crushing Behavior ◽

Initial Peak

The present papers determine the effect of composite pultrusion square tubes E-glass polyester empty and polymeric foam-filled subjected to axial compressive loading. The specimens of square composite pultrusion were compressed experimentally under axial loadings to examine the effect of empty and polymeric foam-filled with different wall-thickness. The wall-thickness was used in this study were 2.1 and 2.4 mm. During the experimental observation, three characteristic crushing stages were identified as initial peak load, progressive crushing and compaction zone stages. The composite pultrusion square tube profile were analyzed and investigated in terms of crashworthiness parameters to meet the improvement of structural material widely used in automobile, aerospace and marine applications. Result obtained from experimental analysis such that initial peak load, mean load, energy absorption and specific energy absorption versus displacement curves were compared for each specimen. Results showed that the tubes energy absorption was affected significantly by different tube profile. It is also found that the polymeric foam-filled exhibit superb crashworthy structure on specific absorbed energy and the amount of initial peak load, mean load and absorbed energy recorded higher than the empty tube profiles.

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