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Crashworthiness study of a novel radial gradient multicell tube

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Abstract

Inspired by hierarchical and gradient structures, a novel radial gradient multicell tube (NRGMT) is proposed, and the finite element model of the structure is constructed using Abaqus/Explicit. The accuracy of the finite element numerical model is verified using experiments and theory, and the energy absorption characteristics of the structure under axial impact are analyzed. The results show that under the same wall thickness, the energy absorption (EA), specific energy absorption (SEA) and crushing force efficiency of NRGMT-3 are 25.03 times, 8.88 times and 6.89 times those of the square tube, respectively. The EA and SEA under the same mass conditions are 4.38 times that of the square tube. The proposed NRGMT has better crashworthiness than a conventional square tube and traditional multicell tubes under the same wall thickness and the same mass conditions. Finally, a parametric study of the wall thickness and hierarchical characteristics of the structure was carried out, the deformation mode of the NRGMT was studied, and a crashworthiness comparative study with 5 other typical hierarchical structures was carried out.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52065059).

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Correspondence to Xiaolin Deng.

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Technical Editor: João Marciano Laredo dos Reis.

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Lu, Q., Deng, X. & Liu, F. Crashworthiness study of a novel radial gradient multicell tube. J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. 45, 409 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-023-04319-2

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