Experimental investigations on the behaviour of short to long square aluminium tubes subjected to axial loading

The transition between progressive and global buckling of axially loaded aluminium extrusions in alloy AA6060 temper T6 was studied by quasi-static and dynamic tests. The primary variables in the tests were the local (b/h=17.78–40) and global (L/b=5–24) slenderness of the extruded members and the impact velocity. The critical global slenderness is defined as the slenderness where direct global buckling or a transition from progressive to global buckling occurs. In the quasi-static tests and for an impact velocity of 13 m/s, the critical global slenderness was found to be an increasing function of the local slenderness. In contrast, the critical global slenderness was a decreasing function of the local slenderness when the impact velocity was 20 m/s. The energy absorption was found to be very dependent on the collapse mode. Significantly more energy is absorbed in the progressive buckling mode than in the global bending mode. In the case of transition from progressive to global buckling, the energy absorption depends on the time of transition. The difference in energy absorption between the different modes decreases for increasing impact velocity due to inertia forces preventing the direct global buckling mode and the early transition from progressive to global buckling.