Experimental Analysis of the folding force in thin wall extruded cells under quasi-static in-plane loading

In most of the engineering structures, specially moving ones and generally in structures under dynamic and static loadings, energy absorber systems are implemented for preventing or reducing damages. These systems are employed in all on-road vehicles, train wagons, airplanes and ships. Energy absorbers are subjected to two forms of in-plane and out-of-plane loadings. In this paper, the effects of geometrical parameters such as thickness and height of structure and mechanical parameters such as yield stress in the cell structure are investigated. The effect of changing boundary conditions on the folding force is also investigated. According to the results, the energy absorbed by the cell, directly relates to the increase in the number of rows; the main reason of this increase is the increase in shared walls. Moreover, doubling the wall thickness has resulted in a 4.7 times higher energy absorption. In addition, the accuracy of different analytical models is compared, and the model with most precise predictions is introduced.