Multiobjective crashworthiness optimization of multi-cornered thin-walled sheet metal members

Abstract Plastic deformation of structures absorbs substantial kinetic energy when impact occurs. Therefore, energy-absorbing components have been extensively used in structural designs to intentionally absorb a large portion of crash energy. On the other hand, high peak crushing force, especially with regard to mean crushing force, may lead to a certain extent and indicate the risk of structural integrity. Thus, maximizing energy absorption and minimizing peak to mean force ratio by seeking for the optimal design of these components are of great significance. Along with this analysis, the collapse behavior of square, hexagonal, and octagonal cross-sections as the baseline for designing a newly introduced 12-edge section for stable collapse with high energy absorption capacity was characterized. Inherent dissipation of the energy from severe deformations at the corners of a section under axial collapse formed the basis of this study, in which multi-cornered thin-walled sections was focused on. Sampling designs of the sections using design of experiments (DOE) based on Taguchi method along with CAE simulations was performed to evaluate the responses over a range of steels grades starting from low end mild steels to high end strength. The optimization process with the target of maximizing both specific energy absorption (SEA) and crush force efficiency (CFE), as the ratio of mean crushing load to peak load, was carried out by nonlinear finite element analysis through LS-DYNA. Based on single-objective and multi-objective optimizations, it was found that octagonal and 12-edge sections had the best crashworthiness performance in terms of maximum SEA and CFE.

[1]  Genichii Taguchi,et al.  Introduction to quality engineering. designing quality into products a , 1986 .

[2]  T. Wierzbicki,et al.  Relative merits of single-cell, multi-cell and foam-filled thin-walled structures in energy absorption , 2001 .

[3]  G. Cheng,et al.  A comparative study of energy absorption characteristics of foam-filled and multi-cell square columns , 2007 .

[4]  F. Rammerstorfer,et al.  Experimental studies on the quasi-static axial crushing of steel columns filled with aluminium foam , 2000 .

[5]  G. Lu,et al.  Quasi-static axial compression of thin-walled circular aluminium tubes , 2001 .

[6]  Zhiliang Tang,et al.  Energy absorption properties of non-convex multi-corner thin-walled columns , 2012 .

[7]  R. Roy.  A Primer on the Taguchi Method , 1990 .

[8]  Mark White,et al.  A theoretical analysis for the quasi-static axial crushing of top-hat and double-hat thin-walled sections , 1999 .

[9]  F. Rammerstorfer,et al.  Crushing of axially compressed steel tubes filled with aluminium foam , 1997 .

[10]  Kamran Behdinan,et al.  A material and gauge thickness sensitivity analysis on the NVH and crashworthiness of automotive instrument panel support , 2003 .

[11]  W. Abramowicz,et al.  Dynamic axial crushing of square tubes , 1984 .

[12]  Leonard Evans,et al.  PASSIVE COMPARED TO ACTIVE APPROACHES TO REDUCING OCCUPANT FATALITIES. 12TH INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL CONFERENCE ON EXPERIMENTAL SAFETY VEHICLES, GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN, MAY 29-JUNE 1, 1989 , 1989 .

[13]  A. Toksoy,et al.  Quasi-static axial crushing of extruded polystyrene foam-filled thin-walled aluminum tubes: Experimental and numerical analysis , 2006 .

[14]  T. Wierzbicki,et al.  On the Crushing Mechanics of Thin-Walled Structures , 1983 .

[15]  M. Langseth,et al.  Static crushing of square aluminium extrusions with aluminium foam filler , 1999 .

[16]  Tongxi Yu,et al.  Energy Absorption of Structures and Materials , 2003 .

[17]  Norman Jones,et al.  Dynamic progressive buckling of circular and square tubes , 1986 .

[18]  A. Needleman.  Material rate dependence and mesh sensitivity in localization problems , 1988 .

[19]  J. M. Alexander.  AN APPROXIMATE ANALYSIS OF THE COLLAPSE OF THIN CYLINDRICAL SHELLS UNDER AXIAL LOADING , 1960 .

[20]  H. Zarei,et al.  Experimental and numerical crashworthiness investigation of empty and foam-filled end-capped conical tubes , 2011 .

[21]  Gary B. Lamont,et al.  Evolutionary Algorithms for Solving Multi-Objective Problems , 2002, Genetic Algorithms and Evolutionary Computation.

[22]  Mark White,et al.  Experimental study into the energy absorbing characteristics of top-hat and double-hat sections subjected to dynamic axial crushing , 1999 .

[23]  O. Hopperstad,et al.  Static and dynamic axial crushing of square thin-walled aluminium extrusions , 1996 .

[24]  Yunbo Liu,et al.  Development of simplified finite element models for straight thin-walled tubes with octagonal cross section , 2007 .

[25]  Julian Happian-Smith,et al.  An Introduction to Modern Vehicle Design , 2002 .

[26]  Jan Holnicki-Szulc,et al.  High-performance impact absorbing materials—the concept, design tools and applications , 2003 .

[27]  O. Hopperstad,et al.  Static and dynamic crushing of square aluminium extrusions with aluminium foam filler , 2000 .

[28]  Heung-Soo Kim,et al.  New extruded multi-cell aluminum profile for maximum crash energy absorption and weight efficiency , 2002 .

[29]  Qing Li,et al.  Design optimization of regular hexagonal thin-walled columns with crashworthiness criteria , 2007 .

[30]  Aharon Ben-Tal,et al.  Characterization of Pareto and Lexicographic Optimal Solutions , 1980 .

[31]  G. L. Viegelahn,et al.  Energy dissipation and associated failure modes when axially loading polygonal thin-walled cylinders , 1991 .

[32]  T. Wierzbicki,et al.  Axial Crushing of Multicorner Sheet Metal Columns , 1989 .