Enhancement of Energy Absorption for Crashworthiness Application: Octagonal-Shape Longitudinal Members

Abstract

This study examines the crashworthiness performance of the octagonal thin wall tube, based on numerical simulation. The purpose is to find the optimal design with the lowest weight and best crashworthiness parameters in order to protect the passengers’ life. Octagonal members with various trigger mechanisms (circular, square and elliptical triggers) with different distributions from the free end of tube were compared with mild steel A36 tube of 2 mm wall thickness, filled with hollow aluminium foam. The filled steel tube has given better results by enhancing the energy absorption by 15% and 36.8 in case of direct and oblique impact respectively .While The better result has given by enhancing CFE by 30%and 9.9% in case of direct and oblique impact respectively