Pingfan Li, Jiumei Xiao^*

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.139, No.1, pp. 999-1016, 2024, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2023.044059

Abstract Thin-walled structures are widely used in cars due to their lightweight construction and energy-absorbing properties. However, issues such as high initial stress and low energy-absorbing efficiency arise. This study proposes a novel energy-absorbing structure in which a straight tube is combined with a conical tube and a bamboo-inspired bulkhead structure is introduced. This configuration allows the conical tube to flip outward first and then fold together with the straight tube. This deformation mode absorbs more energy and less peak force than the conical tube sinking and flipping inward. Through finite element numerical simulation, the specific energy absorption capacity of the… More >

Shaoqiang Xu¹, Weiwei Li^1,*, Lin Li², Tao Li¹, Chicheng Ma¹

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.131, No.2, pp. 929-947, 2022, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2022.018964

Abstract Thin-walled structures have been used in many fields due to their superior mechanical properties. In this paper, two types of hierarchical multi-cell tubes, inspired by the self-similarity of Pinus sylvestris, are proposed to enhance structural energy absorption performance. The finite element models of the hierarchical structures are established to validate the crashworthiness performance under axial dynamic load. The theoretical model of the mean crushing force is also derived based on the simplified super folded element theory. The finite element results demonstrate that the energy absorption characteristics and deformation mode of the bionic hierarchical thin-walled tubes are further improved with the… More >