DYNAMIC SIMULATION OF ALUMINUM RECTANGULAR TUBES UNDER DIRECT AND OBLIQUE IMPACT LOAD: APPLICATION TO VEHICLE CRASHWORTHINESS DESIGN

Abstract

This paper describes the behavior of thin wall rectangular tube crosssections subjected to dynamic compression loading. Computational investigation studies the reaction of the tube of different diameters and thicknesses, subjected to direct and oblique loading. The rectangular tube, with ellipse, circular and square shape triggers and others filled with different weight of hollow foam are the subject of the investigation. The purpose of the examination was to compare the tubes of various parameters, chosen with the multi criteria decision making (MCDM) procedure, in order to find the design based on the best multi criteria, and performance indicators. The studied performance parameters were the energy absorption capacity in case of direct and oblique loading, the peak force, and the crush force efficiency. The material chosen for the current study was the aluminum alloy AA6060, due to its lighter weight, with the purpose of examining its ability to be used in energy absorption application. The enhancement of energy absorption by 76.4%, improve the CFE by 44% in direct load, while in case of oblique load we have an enhancement of the energy absorption by 73.4%, and an improvement of the CFE by 22.5%with hollow aluminum foam. Choosing thinner tube and using less aluminum foam is to keep the weight of the final design as low as possible, and at the same time to enhance its energy absorber capacities and the CFE.