Study and Optimization of Energy Absorption Characteristics of Windowed Multi-Cell Thin-Walled Conical Tube under the Axial Loading

Conical tubes have attracted significant attention due to their more stable deformation mode and lower initial peak load compared to non-conical tubes under axial load. Firstly, based on LS-DYNA software and a multiobjective optimization algorithm, simulations of the conical tube structure under axial load were conducted to determine the optimal dimensions of the conical tube. Then, based on the optimal unicellular conical tube structure, the energy absorption characteristics of the windowed multicell conical tube structures with horizontal and vertical partitions and square holes were designed, and a predictive expression for the mean load was proposed based on the simulation data. Finally, the results show that the optimal dimensions of the mono-cell conical tube are ϕ= 10° and t = 1.29 mm, while the optimal dimensions of the windowed multi-cell conical tube structure are four transverse split panels (v= 4), four vertical split panels (n= 4), and four holes (k = 4). Compared to the unicellular conical tube, the energy absorption efficiency of the windowed multi-cell conical tube has increased by 70.06%, while the initial peak load has decreased by 23.60%. Furthermore, both simulation and experimental results show that the predictive expression for the mean load of the windowed multicell conical tube exhibits good universality and reliability. The research results provide a new design concept for thin-walled conical tube energy absorption boxes.OPEN ACCESS Received: 24/07/2024 Accepted: 09/12/2024 Published: 20/04/2025