Crashworthiness of double-gradient hierarchical hexagonal tubes under multiple loads

Hierarchical design and gradient design have been shown to improve the crashworthiness of structures. However, fewer studies combine the two. Therefore, this study combines the two to design a novel double-gradient hierarchical hexagonal tube (DGHHT) based on a hexagonal tube (HT). According to the different axial gradients, they are divided into DGHHT-1 and DGHHT-2. The crashworthiness under multiple loads was studied by finite element simulation. Firstly, the reliability of the finite element model is validated by experimental results. Secondly, compared with single-gradient hierarchical hexagonal tubes (SGHHT), DGHHT have better resistance to global bending under multiple loads. When studying mass effects, it was found that both HT and DGHHT had increased peak force and SEA. When HT is designed as DGHHT-2, specific energy absorption (SEA) can be increased by up to 82.74%. Studying the effects of impact angle found that DGHHT-2 has better resistance to global bending than HT as the angle increases. Studying the effect of DGHHT-2 axial gradient distribution found that reasonable distribution of its axial gradient can further improve its ability to resist global bending. Finally, compared with the structures proposed in other studies, DGHHT-2 also has better resistance to global bending at an impact angle of 30 degrees. The double-gradient hierarchical design in this study can provide new design ideas for crashworthiness design.