This study aims to investigate the crashworthiness performance of thin-walled tapered tubes with hybrid geometry (HG-tubes) both experimentally and numerically (finite element code LS–DYNA) under quasi-static axial compression. The HG-tube cross section progressively changes along the axial length from circular to square. First, axial crushing tests of mild steel specimens were conducted. Then, two numerical models were designed to simulate the crushing behaviour of each specimen: one considering the boundary geometrical imperfections (in order to examine their effect on the crashworthiness performance) and the other considering a perfect geometrical structure. Lastly, a numerical parametric study was carried out, where new series of tapered HG-tubes models were crushed. The varying parameter was the perimeter of the small base of the tube, while the perimeter of the large base, the wall thickness, and the axial length remained constant. Introducing the boundary geometrical imperfections into the numerical models did not essentially impact the energy absorption. The HG-tubes outperformed the tubes with square cross section but not the tubes with circular cross section in terms of energy absorption.

这项研究的目的是在准静态轴向压缩下，通过实验和数值研究（有限元代码LS–DYNA）具有混合几何形状的薄壁锥形管（HG管）的耐撞性能。HG管的横截面沿轴向长度从圆形逐渐变化为正方形。首先，进行了低碳钢试样的轴向破碎试验。然后，设计了两个数值模型来模拟每个试样的破碎行为：一个考虑边界几何缺陷（以检查其对耐撞性能的影响），另一个考虑理想的几何结构。最后，进行了数值参数研究，将新系列的锥形HG管模型压碎了。变化的参数是管子小底座的周长，而大底座的周长，壁厚和轴向长度保持不变。将边界几何缺陷引入到数值模型中基本上不会影响能量吸收。在能量吸收方面，HG管的性能优于方形截面的管，而不是圆形截面的管。