Deformation and Energy Absorption Characteristics of Thin-Walled Structures

Author(s):  
Ahmed Elmarakbi ◽  
Niki Fielding

In this paper, to investigate the design of an energy absorbing street pole, a study of axial crush behaviour of metal thin longitudinal tubes (columns) are investigated along with a number of variables such as cross-sectional shape, shell thickness, as well as the velocity affects on columns. Tests have been carried out on the effects of bedded crumple initiators placed a various heights from the top of the column, in determining the desired value of peak load reduction, along with the effect in energy absorption of the column. With the conclusion of the desired variables for the design of an energy absorbing column, the columns are placed 90 degrees to that of the base of the model street column. Simulation of frontal impact of a vehicle and street column are analysed and compared to that of the energy absorbing street column concept. Studies are carried out by numerical simulation via the explicit finite element code LS-DYAN. Results compare the absorbed energy and the deflection of each variable, and recommend best design for the column structure which improved vehicle crashworthiness.

2013 ◽  
Vol 315 ◽  
pp. 334-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaffar S. Mohamed Ali ◽  
Kassim A. Abdullah ◽  
Yulfian Aminanda

In this study, numerical simulation of tubes of various cross section under axial compression is carried out using LS-DYNA. The effect of varying configurations of tube cross-section shape on the deformation response, collapse mode and energy absorption characteristics of tubes under quasi-static axial compression have been studied. The validation of the finite element tube model was made by comparison with the experimental results of the square tube subjected to quasi-static axial compression. Tabulated results are presented and plots have been included for the specific energy absorption for different cross sections. The study provides an insight on ways to increasing energy absorption of light weight aluminium tubes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 252 ◽  
pp. 07005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quirino Estrada ◽  
Dariusz Szwedowicz ◽  
Alejandro Rodriguez-Mendez ◽  
Jesús Silva-Aceves ◽  
Lara C. Wiebe ◽  
...  

The study of bending behaviour of thin-walled structures has gained importance since lateral impact is the second most common scenario in automobile crashes. The current paper analyses an effect of partition plates on energy absorption (Ea) of circular profiles under lateral loads. For this purpose, several numerical analyses using Abaqus/Explicit finite element software were carried out. The evaluated specimens have circular cross-sections reinforced by different arrangement of partition plates. In order to get reliable outcome, special emphasis was placed on damage modelling by Johnson-Cook failure model for aluminium. From the results considering a single profile, better Ea was registered for structures with plates in a range from 6% to 34%. Reduction in peak load (Pmax) up to 13% and an increase in crush force efficiency (CFE) in 14.86% was also computed. Regarding profiles with plates, it was determined that crashworthiness performance depends on an arrangement of plates on the cross-section more than their thickness and number. Better performance was obtained when the circular cross-section was reinforced in the longitudinal and transversal direction by 4 plates.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1019 ◽  
pp. 96-102
Author(s):  
Ali Taherkhani ◽  
Ali Alavi Nia

In this study, the energy absorption capacity and crush strength of cylindrical thin-walled structures is investigated using nonlinear Finite Elements code LS-DYNA. For the thin-walled structure, Aluminum A6063 is used and its behaviour is modeled using power-law equation. In order to better investigate the performance of tubes, the simulation was also carried out on structures with other types of cross-sections such as triangle, square, rectangle, and hexagonal, and their results, namely, energy absorption, crush strength, peak load, and the displacement at the end of tubes was compared to each other. It was seen that the circular cross-section has the highest energy absorption capacity and crush strength, while they are the lowest for the triangular cross-section. It was concluded that increasing the number of sides increases the energy absorption capacity and the crush strength. On the other hand, by comparing the results between the square and rectangular cross-sections, it can be found out that eliminating the symmetry of the cross-section decreases the energy absorption capacity and the crush strength. The crush behaviour of the structure was also studied by changing the mass and the velocity of the striker, simultaneously while its total kinetic energy is kept constant. It was seen that the energy absorption of the structure is more sensitive to the striker velocity than its mass.


Author(s):  
Xilu Zhao ◽  
Chenghai Kong ◽  
Yang Yang ◽  
Ichiro Hagiwara

Abstract Current vehicle energy absorbers face two problems during a collision in that there is only a 70% collapse in length and there is a high initial peak load. These problems arise because the presently used energy-absorbing column is primitive from the point of view of origami. We developed a column called the Reversed Spiral Origami Structure (RSO), which solves the above two problems. However, in the case of existing technology of the RSO, the molding cost of hydroforming is too expensive for application to a real vehicle structure. We therefore conceive a new structure, named the Reversed Torsion Origami Structure (RTO), which has excellent energy absorption in simulation. We can thus develop a manufacturing system for the RTO cheaply. Excellent results are obtained in a physical experiment. The RTO can replace conventional energy absorbers and is expected to be widely used in not only automobile structures but also building structures.


Author(s):  
Sadjad Pirmohammad

This paper evaluates the crashworthiness performance of concentric structures with different numbers of tubes (i.e. one to five) and cross-sectional shapes (i.e. hexagon, octagon, decagon and circle) under the multiple loadings of θ = 0, 10, 20 and 30°. An experimentally validated finite element model generated in LS-DYNA is employed to calculate the crashworthiness parameters including the specific energy absorption, maximum crush force and crush force efficiency. A total of 20 concentric structures are analyzed to explore the effects of number of tubes and cross-sectional shapes on the crushing performance. A multi-criteria decision-making method known as TOPSIS is also used to compare and rank the concentric structures in terms of crushing performance. Based on the results, the hexagonal structure including two tubes and octagonal, decagonal and circular structures including three tubes demonstrate the best results among their corresponding cross-sectional shapes. These structures show 9, 39, 38 and 39% higher specific energy absorption compared to their corresponding single tubal cases, respectively. However, in comparison to single tubal cases, they generate 4, 57, 57 and 58% higher maximum crush force, respectively. As such, the values for the improvement of the crush force efficiency are 3, 26, 25 and 21%, respectively. Furthermore, the decagonal structure including three tubes provides the highest energy absorbing characteristics as compared with all the other structures studied in this research. Meanwhile, taking into account all the multiple loading conditions, this structure shows 50% higher specific energy absorption than the hexagonal structure including single tube (as the weakest structure).


Author(s):  
Gülce Özturk ◽  
Altan Kayran

In this paper, a crushable absorber system is designed to analyze the dynamic behavior and performance of a helicopter seat. The mechanism of the absorption system makes use of the crash energy to plastically deform the aluminum material of the seat legs. Seat structure is composed of a bucket, two legs and two sliding parts on each leg. Seat legs are made of aluminum and and the sliding parts of the seat are steel. During the impact event, the heavier sliding parts move down and crash the aluminum material for the purpose of deforming the aluminum material under the sliding parts and reduce the crash energy. The designed helicopter seat is analyzed using the explicit finite element method to evaluate how the seat energy absorbing mechanism works. Dynamic simulations are performed in ABAQUS by crashing the seat to a fixed rigid wall. To simulate the plastic deformation, true stress-strain curve of the aluminum material of the seat leg has been used. Time response results are filtered to calculate the meaningful g loads which incur damage to the occupants. Analyses are performed with and without the energy absorption mechanism in order to see the effectiveness of the energy absorption mechanism on the human survivability by comparing the g loads on the seat bucket with the acceptable loads specified by EASA. This study is a preliminary study intended to check the effectiveness of the damping mechanism based on the plastic deformation of the aluminum legs of the seat in the event of a crash.


2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshiaki Nakazawa ◽  
Kenji Tamura ◽  
Michitaka Yoshida ◽  
Katsutoshi Takagi ◽  
Mitsutoshi Kano

Author(s):  
Benhuai Li ◽  
Zhaijun Lu ◽  
Kaibo Yan ◽  
Sisi Lu ◽  
Lingxiang Kong ◽  
...  

Aluminium honeycomb is a light weight, thin-walled material with a typical multi-cellular construction and a good strength-to-weight ratio. Therefore, aluminium honeycomb can be used as an energy-absorbing device for high-speed trains. Due to its large mass and high operating speed, a high-speed train can generate large impact energy. Thus, an energy-absorbing device with a greater energy absorption capability must be designed for high-speed trains. To reduce the aerodynamic drag, the cross-sectional area of a high-speed train is limited. Therefore, a honeycomb energy-absorbing device should be designed in such a way that it is longer than the traditional energy-absorbing devices; however, this may lead to bending, destruction and uncontrollable deformation of the honeycomb; these factors are not conducive for energy absorption. In this paper, a sleeve structure was designed for high-speed trains, and a crash experiment of the energy-absorbing structure showed that the bending and destruction of the honeycomb energy-absorbing device are effectively suppressed compared with the ordinary honeycomb energy-absorbing structure. Moreover, the fluctuation of the crash force was smaller and the crash force is more stable than the traditional thin-walled energy-absorbing structure. Therefore, the deformation instability problem of the ordinary honeycomb energy-absorbing structure and the crash force fluctuation problem of the traditional thin-walled energy-absorbing structure can be solved. Then, a crash experiment and simulation involving a high-speed train with improved honeycomb energy-absorbing device was carried out, and the results showed that the deformation of the end of the train body was stable and controllable, and the train body deceleration satisfied the collision standard EN15227.


2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (29) ◽  
pp. 4557-4573
Author(s):  
Qi Cao ◽  
Xianrui Lv ◽  
Xiaojun Li ◽  
Changjun Zhou ◽  
Shide Song

High-strength concrete-encased-steel filled CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced polymer) tube (HCSFC) takes advantages of high strength of concrete, steel and confinement of FRP, resulting in enhanced structural load carrying capacity and deformability. In this study, expansive high-strength concrete is filled between CFRP tube and sectional steel to study the mechanical properties of high-strength expansive concrete-encased-steel filled CFRP tube (HECSFC) under monotonic and cyclic axial compression. Twenty-four specimens were fabricated in this study. The variables included the number of CFRP layers (0, 1, 2 layers), cross-sectional shape (circular and square), self-stress level (with or without self-stress) and loading mode (monotonic and cyclic). Test results show that the peak load of HCSFC specimen is greater than their nominal load-carrying capacity, which indicates that CFRP plays a confinement role on the internal core concrete-encased-steel. As the number of layers increases, both the normalized peak load and the ultimate axial strain increase. For specimens under the same number of layers, cross sectional shape and loading mode, the ultimate axial strain and strain reduction factor of self-stressing specimens are higher than those of nonprestressed specimens. At the same time, it is found that the confinement efficiency of CFRP on circular specimen is higher than that of square specimen. Analytical results show that the modified existing stress-strain models of CFRP confined concrete predict well with the experimental results.


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