Investigating the effect of material type in the new design of thin-walled tubes under axial loading

Abstract

Material properties and geometry are the two factors that have a significant impact on the energy absorption capacity of the thin-walled tubes. The demand for symmetry in the crushing has generated some limitations for the choice of material properties and geometry in the energy-absorbing systems. Proposing a design or model which could minimise the limitations due to the material type and also increase energy-absorbing level and energy dissipation is of particular interest. In this paper, a new model of thin-walled tubes called hole-drilled thin-walled tubes which have a simpler cross section compared to other models is introduced. Then, the crushing behaviour of material types of aluminium and steel which have the most applications in the energy-absorbing systems was investigated under the same conditions and their energy-absorbing capacity was compared. Results show that the proposed model of both steel and aluminium material types has suitable crushing symmetry. Also, by changing the material type from aluminium to steel, no difference in the crushing behaviour was observed and the crushing behaviour is similar in the both cases, but specific energy absorption and initial crushing force increase by changing the material type from aluminium to steel.