Mechanics of axial plastic collapse in multi-cell, multi-corner crush tubes

Quasi-static nonlinear finite element simulations are performed to study the energy absorption characteristics of axially crushed thin-walled aluminum tubes with different multi-cell, multi-corner configurations. By considering the kinematically consistent representation of plastic collapse as observed in the crush simulations, an analytical formula for the mean crush force is derived using the super folding element theory. In this model, the isotropic material is treated as rigid-perfectly plastic and the total internal energy is calculated by considering both bending and membrane deformation during the folding process. The simulation results show a strong correlation between the cross-sectional geometry and the crush response of the tubes. The analytical predictions for the mean crush force are compared with the FE results as well as other analytical models reported in the literature.