Thin-walled Structures 

About: Thin-walled Structures is an academic journal published by Elsevier BV. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Buckling & Finite element method. It has an ISSN identifier of 0263-8231. Over the lifetime, 7321 publications have been published receiving 165512 citations.

Performance of concrete-filled thin-walled steel tubes under pure torsion

Abstract: In practice, concrete-filled steel tubes (CFST) are often subjected to torsion. To date, such a problem however has not been addressed satisfactorily by design codes. The present study is thus an attempt to study the torsional behaviours of concrete-filled thin-walled steel tubes. ABAQUS software is used in this paper for the finite element analysis (FEA) of CFST subjected to pure torsion. A comparison of results calculated using this modelling shows good agreement with test results. The FEA modelling was used to investigate the influence of important parameters that determine the ultimate torsional strength of the composite sections. The parametric studies provide information for the development of formulae to calculate the ultimate torsional strength, as well as the torsional moment versus torsional strain curves of the composite sections.

Collapsible impact energy absorbers: an overview

Abstract: This paper reviews the common shapes of collapsible energy absorbers and the different modes of deformation of the most common ones. Common shapes include circular tubes, square tubes, frusta, struts, honeycombs, and sandwich plates. Common modes of deformation for circular tubes include axial crushing, lateral indentation, lateral flattening, inversion and splitting. Non-collapsible systems, such as lead extrusions or tube expansions, are considered to be beyond the scope of this review.

Relative merits of single-cell, multi-cell and foam-filled thin-walled structures in energy absorption

Abstract: The axial crushing of hollow multi-cell columns were studied analytically and numerically. A theoretical solution for the mean crushing force of multi-cell sections were derived, and the solution was shown to compare very well with the numerical predictions. Numerical studies were also carried out on foam-filled double-cell and triple-cell columns. Based upon the numerical results, closed-form solutions were derived to calculate the mean crushing strength of these sections. It was found that the interaction effects between the foam core and the column wall contribute to the total crushing resistance by the amounts equal to 140% and 180% of the direct foam resistance for double cell and triple cell respectively. Finally, the relative merits of single-cell, multi-cell and foam-filled sections were discussed.

On the crashworthiness performance of thin-walled energy absorbers: Recent advances and future developments

Abstract: Over the past several decades, a noticeable amount of research efforts has been directed to minimising injuries and death to people inside a structure that is subjected to an impact loading. Thin-walled (TW) tubular components have been widely employed in energy absorbing structures to alleviate the detrimental effects of an impact loading during a collision event and thus enhance the crashworthiness performance of a structure. Comprehensive knowledge of the material properties and the structural behaviour of various TW components under various loading conditions is essential for designing an effective energy absorbing system. In this paper, based on a broad survey of the literature, a comprehensive overview of the recent developments in the area of crashworthiness performance of TW tubes is given with a special focus on the topics that emerged in the last ten years such as crashworthiness optimisation design and energy absorbing responses of unconventional TW components including multi-cells tubes, functionally graded thickness tubes and functionally graded foam filled tubes. Due to the huge number of studies that analysed and assessed the energy absorption behaviour of various TW components, this paper presents only a review of the crashworthiness behaviour of the components that can be used in vehicles structures including hollow and foam-filled TW tubes under lateral, axial, oblique and bending loading.

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

Abstract: 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.