Dynamic crushing behavior of a multilayer thin-walled aluminum corrugated core: The effect of velocity and imperfection

The crushing behavior of a multilayer 1050 H14 aluminum corrugated core was investigated both experimentally and numerically (LS-Dyna) using the perfect and imperfect models between 0.0048 and 90 m s−1. The dynamic compression and direct impact tests were performed in a compression type and a modified Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar set-up, respectively. The investigated fully imperfect model of the corrugated core sample represented the homogenous distribution of imperfection, while the two-layer imperfect model the localized imperfection. The corrugated core experimentally deformed by a quasi-static homogenous mode between 0.0048 and 22 m s−1, a transition mode between 22 and 60 m s−1 and a shock mode at 90 m s−1. Numerical results have shown that the stress-time profile and the layer crushing mode of the homogeneous and transition mode were well predicted by the two-layer imperfect model, while the stress-time profile and the layer crushing mode were well approximated by the fully imperfect model. The fully imperfect model resulted in complete sequential layer crushing at 75 and 90 m s−1, respectively. The imperfect layers in the shock mode only affected the distal end stresses, while all models implemented resulted in similar impact end stresses. The distal end initial crushing stress increased with increasing velocity until about 22 m s−1; thereafter, it saturated at ~2 MPa, which was ascribed to the micro inertial effect. Both the stress-time and velocity-time history of the rigid-perfectly-plastic-locking model and the critical velocity for the shock deformation were well predicted when a dynamic plateau stress determined from the distal end stresses in the shock mode was used in the calculations.