Experimental and computational evaluation of compressive response of single and hex-arrayed aluminum tubes

Abstract

We report experiments and simulations of the dynamic and quasistatic compressive response of single and hex-arrayed thick aluminum tubes. The investigation aims to further characterize how tube-based sandwich structures absorb energy. First, we study by compression tests the quasistatic buckling of single, tubes of 7075 aluminum, an alloy showing sufficient ductility and plasticity to make it potentially a good choice for energy absorbing devices. The experiments show geometry-dependent buckling modes. The corresponding finite element numerical simulations correlate well and will help estimate the maximum load level, and the buckling and postbuckling responses. Second, we study.the dynamic buckling of sandwiched, hex-arrayed 3003 aluminum tubes. The simulations and experimental results correlate well and show a remarkable increase in energy absorbing capacity, which is caused by the postbuckling interaction of neighboring tubes. They also show that, as the tube spacing is decreased, the overall energy absorbed increases significantly. We also simulate how varying tube length and thickness affect the buckling of the array under dynamic loading.