Finite element and coupled finite element/smooth particle hydrodynamics modeling of the quasi-static crushing of empty and foam-filled single, bitubular and constraint hexagonal- and square-packed aluminum tubes

Abstract

The quasi-static axial crushing behavior of empty and Al and polystyrene foam-filled Al single, bitubular and multi-tube-packed (hexagonal and square packing) configurations were investigated experimentally and numerically. Tubes were modeled using finite element and coupled finite element/smooth particle hydrodynamics. The numerical specific absorbed energy (SAE) values, deformation patterns, load values and number of folds formed were found to show agreements with those of experiments. Among the tested tube configurations only hexagonal-and square-packed empty tube designs showed increased SAE values over that of single empty tube. Furthermore, foamfilled multi-tube designs both hexagonal-and square-packed designs were found energetically more efficient than Al foam-filled single tubes at similar foam filler densities. The increased SAE values of multi-tubes were attributed to the frictional forces of the multi-tube designs and constraining effect of the die walls accommodating the tubes.

Crashworthiness design for functionally graded foam-filled thin-walled structures

“…After undertaking a convergence study, an element size of 3 mm was found to produce suitable results. The same conclusion had been drawn by Aktay et al [35] in a similar structure. Therefore, the side lengths of square and cube elements in the tube wall and foam were both 3 mm.…”

Quasi-Static Axial Crushing Behavior of Honeycomb-Filled Thin-Walled Aluminum Tubes

“…The SAE values of honeycomb filling are further compared ) filling of the same Al tube, which was previously studied [10] tubes, there exists a critical cell size/density of honeycomb above which the filling becomes more efficient than tubewall thickening.…”

Multi-objective optimization of functionally graded thickness tubes under external inversion over circular dies

“…The widespread use of thin-walled tubes as energy absorbers is due to their good performance under dynamic loading, availability, low manufacturing cost, and efficiency. Numerous efforts have been made in the past decades to improve the crashworthiness performance of the crush absorber tubes, such as foam filled tubes (Hanssen et al 2000;Ahmad & Thambiratnam 2009b;2009c;Aktay et al 2008;Mirfendereski et al 2008), introducing different patterns (Zhang et al 2007), grooves (Zhang & Huh 2009;Saleh ghaffari et al 2010), multi-cells (Zhang & Zhang 2013;Zhang & Zhang 2014), and functionally graded structures (Mohammadiha & Ghariblu 2016;Sun et al 2010). Relative merits of conical tubes with graded thickness subjected to oblique impact loads are investigated by Zhang (Zhang & Zahng 2015).…”