Energy absorption performance of fully clamped curved tubes under transverse loading

• Published in: Thin-walled structures 2022-06, Vol.175, p.109240, Article 109240
• Main Authors: Zheng, Danfeng, Zhang, Junyuan, Lu, Bingquan, Zhang, Tianqi, Xie, Jian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Curved tubes; Energy absorption; Fully clamped condition; Theoretical analysis; Transverse bending response
• ISSN: 0263-8231; 1879-3223
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tws.2022.109240

Curved tubes are widely used on autobody to suffer the transverse bending loads. This paper studies the energy absorption performance of curved tubes under transverse bending load. Firstly, three-point-bending and fully clamped bending experiments are conducted for three kinds of curved tubes with different radii. It is found that the curvature has a significant impact on the energy absorption effect under the fully clamped condition. However, the influence is limited and it will be easily ignored in the three-point-bending condition. Under fully clamped condition, tubes with large radii have three-plastic-hinges, and curved tubes with small radius have five-plastic-hinges. Due to the participation of axial force, the energy absorption of the curved tubes under fully clamped condition is 2.8–4.1 times that of the three-point-bending condition. Subsequently, FE models of curved tubes with different radii are established to analyze the effect of curvature on the deformation mechanism and energy absorption. It is found that whether the shortening of the plastic hinges can meet the requirements of geometric compatibility determines the deformation modes of curved tubes. The influence of loading (loading direction) and geometric (cross-section and thickness) factors are also discussed. Finally, a theoretical model of curved tubes with three-plastic-hinges mode is proposed to predict the energy absorption performance. •Three-point-bending experiments and fully clamped bending experiments are conducted on curved tubes.•FE models of curved tubes are established and verified by experimental results.•How the curvature influences the energy absorption mechanism of tubes under transverse loading is presented.•The effects of loading direction, cross-section and thickness on curved tubes are discussed.•Theoretical analysis is conducted on curved tubes with three-plastic-hinges mode under fully clamped condition.