Estimation of maximum compressive load for circular tubes under axial impact

Abstract

The influence of impact velocity on the crushing behaviour of cylindrical shells subjected to an axial impact was investigated using a finite element analysis. The effects of the material properties, tube geometries and impact velocity V0 on the initial peak stressσ1 are explored. In this study, the applied material is assumed to be insensitive to the strain rate, and the effect of impact velocity is discussed as an inertia effect. It is shown that the initial peak stressσ1 during dynamic loading increases with increase of the impact velocity V₀, which is due to the fact that the displacement in radial direction is delayed as the velocity V₀ increases. Also, based on our numerical simulations, the peak stressσ1 can be regarded as a function of the ratio of tube thickness to radius t/R, hardening modulus to Young's modulus Eh/E and impact velocity to elastic stress wave speed V₀/c. Moreover, an approximate equation to evaluate the peak stress is proposed and in good agreement with the FEM results and other researcher's results under a relatively low impact velocity (V₀<40m/s).