Axial-impact buckling modes and energy absorption properties of thin-walled corrugated tubes with sinusoidal patterns

Corrugated tubes with sinusoidal patterns were studied to improve the energy absorption properties of traditional circular tubes and reduce the initial peak force. The effects of the radius-thickness ratio, wavelength, and amplitude of corrugated tubes under an axial impact were determined using the LS-DYNA. The numerical simulations show that tube deformation can be classified into three crushed modes, namely, dynamic asymptotic buckling, dynamic plastic buckling, and transition buckling. The theoretical equation for dynamic plastic buckling was developed to predict the impact force using certain assumptions. The theoretical prediction results are consistent with the findings of the numerical simulations. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.