Analytic Model of a Crash Energy Absorption Structure for Crashworthy Design of an Inflatable Morphing Body

Abstract

The authors have studied a crash energy absorbing (CEA) truss structure with a locking mechanism to provide rigidity and energy absorption capability during a vehicular. In this paper, we focus on the analytic model of the CEA structure. An analytical model for the CEA truss structure design will be developed. The proposed CEA structure is composed of a morphing truss structure with movable thin-walled members for morphing purposes, members which will be locked in designated positions either before or during the crash. We will describe how to model the CEA structure analytically based on the energy absorbed by the CEA structure.