Crashworthiness investigation of bitubal columns reinforced with several inside ribs under axial and oblique impact loads. (February 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pirmohammad, Sadjad; Nikkhah, Hamid
• Is Part Of: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Volume 232:Number 3(2018:Mar.)
• Page Start: 367
• Page End: 383
• Publication Date: 2018-02
• Subjects: Bitubal columns -- crashworthiness -- dynamic axial loads -- dynamic oblique loads -- polygonal cross-section; Mechanical engineering -- Congresses; Transportation engineering -- Congresses; 629.2
• DOI: 10.1177/0954407017702986
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0954-4070

Abstract

This paper deals with the crashworthiness capability of newly designed bitubal columns with different polygonal cross-sections (i.e. triangular, square, hexagonal, octagonal, decagonal and circular) reinforced with several inside ribs. A large number of finite element analyses were performed on these columns under axial and oblique impact loads using LS-DYNA to find the crashworthiness indicators. These columns were studied with five different size ratios (the ratios of the perimeter a of the inner tube to the perimeter b of the outer tube), namely a / b = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1. A decision-making method, which in this case is the technique for ordering preferences by similarity to the ideal solution, was then employed to select the better columns which possessed a higher energy absorption and a lower peak force. The bitubal columns with size ratios a / b of 0.5, 0.25 and 0.75 were generally found to be the best cases. Furthermore, the multi-cell columns with the decagonal and octagonal cross-sectional shapes were selected as the best energy absorbers.