Numerical Analysis of Double-Hat Multi-Corner Column Under Axial Loading

Vehicle safety is an essential parameter in vehicle manufacturing. System absorber is required to absorb kinetic energy during the crash to avoid excessive structure damage and injury to passengers. Energy absorber technology was developed in various designs. The crash box is one of the energy absorber components. In the past, the ability to absorb impact energy was increased by thickening wall thickness and increasing wall density. Nowadays, the energy absorbing capacity could be gained by increasing the number of corners in a crash box. In this paper, the numerical analysis of the double-hat multi-corner column was conducted by using LS-DYNA software. Several different spot-weld pitch variations in the double-hat multi-corner column have been studied to obtain sufficient distance between spot-weld. Further, the crushing response of the double-hat multi-corner column then compared with a square column, a square double-hat column, a multi-corner column with 12 corners, and a multi-corner column with 20 corners. The result shows that the double-hat multi-corner column with a narrow spot-weld pitch has better energy absorption capacity. It is also observed that the column with a larger number of corners has more capability to absorb energy.