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Crashworthiness analysis of bio-inspired hierarchical circular tube under axial crushing

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Abstract

In this study, numerical and theoretical investigations are carried out to study the crushing behavior and energy absorption characteristics of bio-inspired hierarchical circular tube (BHCT). The BHCT is constructed by simulating the hierarchical microstructure characteristics of bamboo, and its crashworthiness analysis is performed using numerical and theoretical methods. The results show that the BHCT has better energy absorption capacity compared to the multi-cell circular tube (MCT) with the same mass, and the specific energy absorption (SEA) of BHCT is 67.69% higher than that of the corresponding MCT. It is also found that the hierarchical structure parameters λ significantly affect the energy absorption of BHCT. In addition, based on the simplified super folding element theory, a theoretical model is developed to predict the mean crushing force Fm of BHCT, which is in good agreement with the numerical results. This study can provide guidance for the design of novel crashworthiness structures with excellent energy absorption performance.

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Acknowledgements

The research work disclosed in this publication is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (11802044).

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  1. School of Civil Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, Hunan, China

    Fanglin Huang, Xingwang Zhou, De Zhou & Yong Tao

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Huang, F., Zhou, X., Zhou, D. et al. Crashworthiness analysis of bio-inspired hierarchical circular tube under axial crushing. J Mater Sci 58, 101–123 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-022-07982-3

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