Numerical Impact Analysis of Folding-Induced Tubular Thin-walled Energy-dissipating Elements

Abstract

This paper deals with the numerical impact analysis of tubular thin-walled steel-made elements with induced folding for energy dissipation application. The excellent deceleration of the impacting mass of axial collapsing structures favors their use in energy dissipation applications, such as impact resistance and rockfall protection. Dynamic Finite Element analyses have been carried out to evaluate the performance of vertical assemblies of cold-formed steel cell-shaped elements welded on each other to form collapsible tubular elements. In turn, these have been gathered in groups and restrained by galvanized steel wires to create modules. The axial collapse, which is the most effective energy absorption mechanism, has been triggered by shaping the elements' edge as serpentine. In the analysis, several assembly configurations have been subjected to a freefall rhombicuboctahedron-shaped rigid block impact; Falling height, impact angle, and block mass have been varied to investigate their effect on the performance. The numerical results show a good agreement when compared to those obtained through a real-scale experiment.