Crush behavior of thin-walled prismatic columns under combined bending and compression

The objective of this paper is to investigate the crushing response of thin-walled prismatic column under combined loading of compression and bending. Square cross-section beams with two different aspect ratios were subject to a prescribed translational and rotational displacement rate. The nonlinear explicit FE code PAM-CRASH was used to generate the results. The initial and subsequent failure loci representing interaction between sectional force and moment were constructed from the numerical results. Also analytical solution of the same problem was derived. Shanley nonlinear spring model was used in conjunction with the concept of 'superbeam' element to model the generalized plastic hinge. It was shown that the general characteristics of failure locus calculated analytically and numerically are quite similar. The present finding can be used to better interpret results of FE calculations of automotive bodies and to develop simplified crash-oriented design tools. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.