Automotive Science and Engineering

In this paper, numerical simulation of FRP composite cylinder tubes progressive crushing processes is conducted using LS-Dyna. Details on the numerical modeling strategy are given and discussed. It is found that triggers introduced in the numerical simulation can effectively model the bevel trigger at the end of the tubular specimens. It is also found that two-layer finite element model based on the TsaiWu failure criteria is effective in representing the crushing failure mode of the tubular composite specimens and energy absorption characteristics. Employing GEvoM software, two meta-models are then obtained for modeling of both the absorbed energy (E) and the peak crushing force (Fmax) with respect to geometrical design variables using input output data obtained from the finite element modeling. Comparison between obtained meta-models and numerical results in both of training and testing sets show good approximation by using obtained polynomial models.

This study aims to numerically investigate on the crashworthiness of thin-walled square tubes by consideration of 3-D oblique loading. In this type of loading, direction of loading is defined by using two spatial angles relative to the position of the tube. To this aim, finite element (FE) analysis is employed to simulate the loading for 8 different numerical models with different loading orientation. Subsequently, load-displacement diagrams as well as deformation shapes during the loading are derived for each model. Moreover, a study is done on the tube collapse mode for each case. Effect of loading orientation and tube thickness on the maximum crushing load and energy absorption are also studied via a parametric study on the FE simulations. Results indicated a different trend for all cases of 3D oblique loading compared to axial loading. This study highlights the significance of consideration of a 3D orientation in analysis of crushing behavior of thin-walled tubes.