Research on Energy Absorption of Aluminum Foam-filled Double Circular Tubes under Lateral Impact Loadings

The deformation modes and energy absorption of aluminum foam-filled double circular tubes under lateral impact loadings are studied using numerical simulation method. The influences of geometrical parameters of the structure, relative density of foam aluminum material and impact velocities on the mechanical behaviors of structures are analyzed. The simulated results show that the plastic deformation of impact component absorbs the most of energy at the initial moment, and then the plastic bending deformations of the left and right components absorb energy. The specific energy absorption (SEA) of aluminum foam-filled double circular tubes increases with the increase in the diameter of outer tube and the wall thickness of inner tube or the thickness of aluminum foam core. However, the SEA decreases with the increase in the wall thickness of outer tube and the diameter of inner tube. When the impact velocity is less than 30 m/s, the deformation mode is vertically and horizontally symmetrical. The deformation mode is only horizontally symmetrical when the impact velocity is larger than 30 m/s. It can be found that the SEAs of sandwich tubes increase with the increase in the impact velocity. The larger the relative density of aluminum foam core is, the more the SEAs of aluminum foam-filled double circular tubes are.