Crashworthiness analysis and optimization of bi-tubular corrugated thin-walled tube under axial loading

This paper presents a crashworthiness analysis and optimization of the bi-tubular corrugated tube (BCT) structure with a quasi-static compression test. The BCT structure was first modeled into four designs: DST (double straight tube), SCT (straight corrugated tube), CST (corrugated straight tube), and DCT (double corrugated tube) and analyzed by ANSYS LS-DYNA. The crashworthiness was optimized by evaluating two criteria: specific energy absorption (SEA) and crushing force efficiency (CFE). Based on the simulation result, the DCT structure has the lowest SEA but the greatest CFE due to a small initial peak crushing force (IPCF). A design with a small initial peak crushing force value can be a low-risk energy absorber. To produce an optimum SEA and CFE of the DCT structure, this research investigates the effect of inner diameter, wavelength, and amplitude on the DCT structure. The best DCT design achieves a SEA value of 7.015 kJ/kg and a CFE of 1.279 using a 50 mm inner tube diameter, a 10 mm wavelength, and a 2 mm amplitude.