Crushing behaviors of novel multi-cell square tubes and its hierarchical multi-cell structures under axial loading

Abstract

This study proposed a novel multi-cell square tube and its hierarchical structures to improve the energy absorption efficiency of multi-cell thin-walled structures. The finite element model is built and validated with experiment result. The crushing behaviors of novel multi-cell square tubes and its hierarchical structures are compared with the traditional multi-cell square tubes under the same weight. Furthermore, the theoretical model is derived and validated to predict the energy absorption behaviors of the designed multi-cell tubes. The results indicate that the novel multi-cell square tubes and its hierarchical structures exhibit superior crashworthiness performance than corresponding traditional multi-cell square tubes.