Bending resistance and energy-absorbing effectiveness of empty and foam-filled thin-walled tubes

Abstract

A comparative study on the crashworthiness characteristics of different cylindrical tubular structures under quasi-static three-point bending, such as thin-walled empty tube, foam-filled single tube structure and foam-filled double tube structure was carried out. The load–deformation characteristics, failure modes and energy absorption capacity of different structures were investigated. Typical characteristic parameters to measure crashworthiness of a structure, namely energy absorption, specific energy absorption (SEA) and energy-absorbing effectiveness factor were systematically studied and compared to identify a potential structural component for vehicle engineering applications. The experimental results confirmed that when subjected to bending, the total energy absorption, SEA and energy-absorbing effectiveness of foam-filled double structures were relatively higher than those of the empty and foam-filled single structures. Foam-filled double square and circular tube structures are recommended as crashworthy structures due to their high bending resistance and energy-absorbing effectiveness.

Keywords

Thin-walled tube three-point bending crashworthiness energy-absorbing effectiveness factor experimental investigation

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