Study of Energy Absorption Characteristics of Square Tube With Composite Cellular Core

Square tubes are primarily used in automotive structures to absorb energy in the event of an accident. The energy absorption capacity of these structural members depends on several parameters such as tube material, wall thickness, axial length, deformation modes, locking strain, crushing stress, etc. In this paper, the work presented is a continuation of research conducted on exploring the effects of the introduction of cellular core in tubular structures under axial compressive loading. Here, the crushing response of composite cellular core tube was numerically studied using ABAQUS/Explicit module. The energy absorbing characteristics such as deformation or collapsing modes, crushing/ reactive force, crushing stroke, and energy curves were discussed. The composite cellular core tube shows promise for improving the crashworthiness of automobiles.