Crashworthiness analysis of corrugations reinforced multi-cell square tubes

Multi-cell tubes are widely used as energy-absorption components in transportation field due to its high energy absorption capacity and good weight efficiency. However, with the increase of vehicle speed, people have high requirements for safety, and therefore, the crashworthiness performance of multi-cell tubes should be further improved. To this end, we proposed a new type of multi-cell circumferentially corrugated square tubes (CCSTs) by implementing multi-corrugation on the cross sections of the traditional multi-cell square tubes (STs). Experimental, numerical and theoretical methods were adopted to investigate the crushing mechanics of the multi-cell CCSTs. The results showed that the crashworthiness performance of the multi-cell CCSTs was significantly superior to that of the multi-cell STs. In addition, parametric study was performed to reveal the effects of geometric parameters on the crashworthiness characteristics. In conclusion, this work is of positive significance for improving the level of crashworthiness of thin-walled tubes, and this structural design method can also be used for other traditional structures.