New extruded multi-cell aluminum profile for maximum crash energy absorption and weight efficiency

New types of trigger and multi-cell profiles with four square elements at the corner are developed. In terms of the crash energy absorption and weight efficiency, the new multi-cell structure shows dramatic improvements over the conventional square box column. The optimization process with the target of maximizing the specific energy absorption has been successfully carried out, and the example of design process is provided. In the optimization process, the problem of stable progressive folding is also addressed. The analytical solution for calculating the mean crushing force of new multi-cell profiles is derived showing good agreement with the numerical results. Finally, the advantage of the new design over the conventional single or multi-cell profiles is discussed.