Crashworthiness of tailored-property multi-cell tubular structures under axial crushing and lateral bending. (April 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wu, Yaozhong; Fang, Jianguang; Cheng, Zhiyuan; He, Yuhang; Li, Weijia
• Is Part Of: Thin-walled structures. Volume 149(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-04
• Subjects: Tailored-property -- Multi-cell structure -- Axial crushing -- Lateral bending; Thin-walled structures -- Periodicals; 690.1
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tws.2020.106640
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0263-8231

Abstract

Abstract: Thin-walled structures have been widely used as energy-absorbing components, which can be probably subjected to multiple loading conditions in real life, such as axial crushing and lateral bending. Most of the existing literature solely focuses on the pure axial crushing or lateral bending. In this paper, a novel tailored-property multi-cell tubular structure is proposed, where the material's ultimate strength at the corner region is increased to accommodate both the axial crushing and lateral bending conditions. Finite element (FE) models were developed and validated through experimental results. The FE models were used to investigate the crashworthiness performances of the tailored-property multi-cell tubes under axial crushing and lateral bending. Under both axial crushing and lateral bending, it was found that the tailored-property multi-cell tubes exhibited noticeable advantages over the corresponding traditional tubes. The tailoring ratio and thickness had a significant influence on the crashworthiness performance of the tailored-property multi-cell tubes. Moreover, the well-designed tailored-property multi-cell tubes could exhibit the progressive deformation mode under axial crushing. Furthermore, a theoretical model for the tailored-property multi-cell tubes under axial crushing was developed based on the Superfolding Element (SFE) Method. The results showed that the theoretical solutions were in good agreement with the finite element analysis results. The findings of this paper have the potential for energy absorption applications under different loading conditions. Highlights: New tailored-property multi-cell tubes are proposed for axial crushing and lateral bending application. Crashworthiness performances are evaluated by nonlinear FEA and analytical solutions. Tailored properties design for multi-cell tubes enhance the energy absorption efficiency. Crashworthiness performances are significantly affected by tailoring ratio, cell number and thickness.