Summary
This study, with the emphasis on experiments, investigates the applicability of aluminium foam as filler material in tubes made of mild steel having square or circular cross sections, which are crushed axially at low loading velocities. In addition to the experiments finite element studies are performed to simulate the crushing behaviour of the tested square tubes, were a crushable foam material model is shown to be suitable for describing the inelastic response of aluminium foam with respect to the considered problems. The experimental results for the square tubes reveal efficiency improvements with respect to energy absorption of up to 60%, resulting from changed buckling modes of the tubes and energy dissipation during the compression of the foam material itself. The principal features as well as the changes of the crushing process due to filling can also be studied by the numerical simulations. A global failure mechanism due to a high foam density can be observed for filled circular tubes. Aluminium foam is shown to be a suitable material for filling thin-walled tubular steel structures, holding the potential of enhancing the energy absorption capacity considerably, provided the plastic buckling remains characterized by local modes.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Reddy, T. Y., Al-Hassani, S. T. S.: Axial crushing of wood-filled square metal tubes. Int. J. Mech. Sci.35, 231–246 (1993).
Reid, S. R.: Plastic deformation mechanisms in axially compressed metal tubes used as impact energy absorbers. Int. J. Mech. Sci.35, 1035–1052 (1993).
Wintschnig, S.: Analytische, numerische und experimentelle Untersuchungen von Versagensmechanismen verschiedener Hohlprofile. Heft ILFB — 1/96, Institute of Lightweight Structures and Aerospace Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna 1996.
“Alulight”, material description. MEPURA, A-5282 Ranshofen 1996.
Jones, N.: Structural impact. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press 1989.
HKS: ABAQUS/Explicit User's Manual, Version 5.6. Hibitt, Karlsson, Sorensen, Inc., Pawtucket, Rhode Island 1996.
Vollertsen, F., Vogler, S.: Werkstoffeigenschaften und Mikrostruktur. München Wien: Carl Hanser Verlag 1989.
Gibson, L. J., Ashby, M. F.: Cellular solids: structure and properties. Oxford New York: Pergamon Press 1988.
Gradinger, R. C., Kretz, R., Degischer, H. P., Rammerstorfer, F. G.: Deformation behaviour of aluminium foam under compressive loading. In: JUNIOR-EUROMAT, 26–30 August 1996, Lausanne, Switzerland 1996.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Franz Ziegler on the occasion of his 60th birthday
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Seitzberger, M., Rammerstorfer, F.G., Degischer, H.P. et al. Crushing of axially compressed steel tubes filled with aluminium foam. Acta Mechanica 125, 93–105 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01177301
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01177301