Investigation of Axial and Oblique Crushing of Empty and Foam-Filled Conical Tubes under Clamped Boundary Condition

In this study, the numerical and experimental study of energy absorption and deformation of thin-walled conical tubes under axial and oblique loading is studied. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of geometry on the energy absorption of clamped conical tubes and effect of foam-filled tubes to absorb more energy under axial and oblique crushing. In the experimental part, empty aluminum tubes filled with solid polyurethane foam were prepared and then the quasi-static tests with static loading rates were performed on samples and the load-compression diagrams in each test were obtained. In the last part of this study simulation of the phenomenon of axial and oblique on thin sections was carried out with the ABAQUS software. The comparison of numerical and experimental results showed that the present model provides an appropriate procedure to determine the collapse mechanism and load-compression curve. The model is used to evaluate the effects of important parameters defined in empty and foam-filled clamped samples such as wall thickness and semi-apical angle of conical samples. A dynamic amplification factor is considered to relate the quasi-static results to dynamic response of conical shock absorber.