A self-consistent theory is presented which describes the crushing behavior of a class of thin-walled structures. Assuming a rigid-plastic material and using the condition of kinematic continuity on the boundaries between rigid and deformable zones, a basic folding mechanism is constructed. This mechanism closely reproduces all the main features of folds and wrinkles actually observed on typical crumpled sheet metal structures. Calculations based on the energy balance postulate show that two-thirds of the plastic energy is always dissipated through inextensional deformations at stationary and moving plastic hinge lines. The extensional deformations are confined to relatively small sections of the shell surface but they account for the remaining one-third of the dissipated energy. The theory is illustrated by application to the problem of progressive folding of thin-walled rectangular columns. A good correlation is obtained with existing experimental data as far as the mean crushing force and the geometry of the local collapse mode is concerned.
A method is developed for predicting crush behavior of multicorner prismatic columns subjected to an axial compressive load. The corner element of an arbitrary angle is analyzed first using rigorous methods of structural plasticity with finite deformations and rotations. On that basis, crush predictions are made for multicorner columns with an even number of corners. Static crush tests on square, hexagonal, and rhomboidal thin-walled columns are also reported here. Good correlation between the theory and experiments was obtained for the magnitude of a mean crushing force and kinematic parameters describing the process of progressive folding.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.