P.hD in Mechanical Engineering

Master Degree in Mechanical Engineering

This paper presents the effect of design parameters on crushing behavior and energy absorption of steel tubes used in bus frame manufacturing. Experimental investigations were carried out on different cross sections steel tubes subjected to axial impact load. Experimental tests were repeated on three sets of previously mentioned tubes, dents and holes were added to tubes to evaluate its effect on energy absorbed by those tubes.

A finite element model was introduced to simulate the experimental data of an axially loaded column subjected to a transverse load. The model was validated and proved to be in good correlation with the experimental results. The model was further used to investigate the effect of applying a transverse load on axially loaded members of a vehicle frame.