The Effect of Tube End Constraining on the Axial Crushing Behavior of an Aluminum Tube

Abstract

The effect of various types of end constraining on the deformation and load-displacement behavior of a 3003-H14 Al tube were experimentally and numerically studied. No effect of single-end constraining of tubes was found. Few conditions of double-end constraining tended to revert the deformation mode to mixed and/or diamond mode of deformation. Double-end constraining of tube ends further resulted in an increase in initial drop-load values, widening the initial overshot region in average load-displacement curves. The agreement between numerical and experimental results showed the capabilities of the used numerical model in order to predict end-condition effects in tubular structures.