Modelling of tubes subjected to axial crushing

In the present study, the influence of element type and formulation is investigated in finite element analyses of aluminium profiles subjected to axial crushing. It is shown that solid element-based simulations give predictions in better agreement with experiments both with respect to energy dissipation and folding pattern, while plane stress shell elements markedly underestimate the energy dissipation. It is further found that shell elements with thickness stretch give dissipated energies in better agreement with those obtained in simulations with solid elements.