Abstract:
In this dissertation, energy absorption capabilities of steel-based truncated conical shells
with low base angle and end caps are investigated under axial dynamic loading. The
numerical models of absorber were placed between two rigid plates to simulate a crush
box around the absorber.
In order to investigate the effect of the design parameters on the energy absorption of the
conical shells, three different base conical angle (20, 25 and 30), four different impact
velocity (5m/s, 10m/s, 20m/s, 30m/s), four different absorber thickness (4mm, 6mm,
8mm, 10mm) and several impact mass values were analyzed. Numerical analyses were
performed by FEM software Abaqus.
The simulation results were compared by means of several performance parameters such
as peak reaction force Fp, mean reaction force Fm, absorbed energy EA specific energy
absorption (SEA), crash force efficiency (CFE) and dynamic amplification factor (DAF).
In this dissertation, also some guidelines on the design of a truncated conical shell with
low base conical angle as an energy absorber are presented.
