Energy Absorption of Square Tubes with Perforations in Dynamic Axial Crush

Abstract

This study investigates the energy absorption of thin-walled tubes under dynamic axial crushing. The crush energy is known to be affected by the crush speed and geometry of the perforated tubes. The perforation geometry characterized by the size, shape, and array pattern of the holes was selected with respect to a square reference tube with equal mass. Tests and finite element analyses (FEAs) were performed in conjunction with the design of experiments (DOE). Relative to the reference tube, an average increase of 19.5% in energy absorption was achieved with a set of perforated tubes