An analytical model to analyze the behavior of a circular crash box: Calculation of average impact force and crushing length in circular energy absorbers
Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances, cilt.23, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 23
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.hazadv.2026.101461
- Dergi Adı: Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, Chemical Abstracts Core, INSPEC, Directory of Open Access Journals
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Circular crash box, Crashworthiness, Deformable support, Energy absorption, Theoretical model, Transportation services
- İstanbul Gelişim Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
The interaction between progressive folding and the mechanical behavior of the supporting boundary strongly influences the crushing response of thin-walled circular tubes. Nevertheless, most analytical formulations impose a perfectly rigid lower boundary and therefore cannot describe support deformation or the corresponding redistribution of impact energy. This study developed a coupled analytical model for the axial crushing of a circular crash box with a diameter of 100 mm and a wall thickness of 2 mm, whose lower end was connected to a support capable of elastic and plastic deformation. The progressive collapse mechanism was formulated by accounting for plastic-hinge rotation, circumferential stretching, thickness evolution, strain hardening, strain-rate sensitivity, and energy dissipation during material rupture. Three formulations of increasing complexity were examined to isolate the contributions of ideal plasticity, strain hardening, and strain-rate-dependent strengthening. The calculated support displacement, crushing force, crushing length, and absorbed energy were evaluated against previously published experimental and finite element benchmark data at impact velocities of 5 and 10 m/s. The formulation incorporating both strain hardening and strain-rate sensitivity produced the closest agreement with the reference results, with deviations of approximately 20% across the examined responses. The support-absorbed energy decreased nonlinearly with increasing stiffness and approached the rigid-boundary limit at high stiffness, whereas increasing impact velocity increased the energy transferred to the support. These results demonstrate that lower-boundary compliance directly governed the partition of impact energy between support deformation and progressive tube crushing. The proposed model extended classical plastic-folding formulations by incorporating the dynamic response of the supporting boundary.