Crushing behavior and crashworthiness optimization of multi-cell square tubes under multiple loading angles

Thin-walled structures are widely used as energy absorbers in automotive vehicles due to their lightweight and high-energy absorption efficiency. In order to improve the energy absorption characteristics of thin-walled structures subjected to different loading angles, different types of novel multi-cell structures are proposed in this paper. The numerical method is used to study the crushing behaviors of the proposed multi-cell structures under different loading angles. It is found that the proposed multi-cell structures have considerably small initial peak force under axial load and avoid the appearance of global buckling deformation mode under oblique loads. Moreover, reasonably distributed wall thickness for each square tube in the thin-walled structure can enhance its energy absorption capacity under different loading angles.