Abstract Thin-walled columns have been widely employed as energy absorbers for vehicle structures due to their dramatic merits of high energy absorption to weight ratios. Meanwhile, columns filled with low-density metal foams have demonstrated notable improvement on energy absorption capabilities compared with their empty counterparts. Accordingly, the present study aims to investigate and optimize the crashworthiness characteristics of novel foam–filled elliptical column (F-EC) under multiple oblique impact loading. More specifically, the finite element (FE) models of hollow and foam-filled elliptical columns (H-EC, F-EC) are first built and validated against theoretical and experimental outcomes. On this basis, a detailed crashworthiness comparison between the elliptical columns (ECs) and the circular columns (CCs), including hollow and foam-filled columns (H-CC, H-EC, F-CC, F-EC), reveals the superiority of F-EC relative to others on overall crashworthiness characteristics under multiple oblique impact loading. Next, a Taguchi-based design of experiment (DoE) is implemented to investigate the impact of column parameters of F-EC, including the sectional ellipticity e, the column thickness t and the foam density ρf, on the column peak crushing force under axial impact loading (PCF0) and overall specific energy absorption under multiple oblique impact loading (SEAθ). Subsequently, the Taguchi method coupled with grey relational analysis (GRA) is utilized to explore the optimal design of F-EC for maximizing SEAθ and minimizing PCF0 simultaneously, which is then verified through a detailed crashworthiness comparison between the optimized design and the original design. The optimal F-EC reveals more superior crashworthiness characteristics relative to the original design and thus demonstrates enormous potential as a candidate energy absorber particularly under multiple oblique impact loading.

中文翻译：

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新型泡沫填充椭圆柱在多重斜向冲击载荷下的优化分析

摘要 薄壁柱由于具有高吸能重量比的显着优点，被广泛用作车辆结构的吸能器。同时，填充低密度金属泡沫的柱与空柱相比，其能量吸收能力有了显着提高。因此，本研究旨在研究和优化新型泡沫填充椭圆柱（F-EC）在多重倾斜冲击载荷下的耐撞特性。更具体地说，首先建立空心和泡沫填充椭圆柱（H-EC、F-EC）的有限元 (FE) 模型，并根据理论和实验结果进行验证。在此基础上，对椭圆柱（ECs）和圆形柱（CCs）的耐撞性进行了详细的比较，包括空心和泡沫填充柱（H-CC、H-EC、F-CC、F-EC），揭示了 F-EC 在多重倾斜冲击载荷下的整体耐撞特性方面相对于其他产品的优越性。接下来，实施了基于田口的实验设计 (DoE) 以研究 F-EC 的柱参数，包括截面椭圆度 e、柱厚度 t 和泡沫密度 ρf，对轴向下柱峰值破碎力的影响。冲击载荷 (PCF0) 和多重斜向冲击载荷 (SEAθ) 下的整体比能量吸收。随后，利用田口方法结合灰色关联分析 (GRA) 来探索 F-EC 的优化设计，以同时最大化 SEAθ 和最小化 PCF0，然后通过优化设计和原始设计之间的详细耐撞性比较来验证。最佳 F-EC 显示出相对于原始设计更优越的耐撞性特性，因此显示出作为候选能量吸收器的巨大潜力，尤其是在多重倾斜冲击载荷下。