Axial-impact buckling modes and energy absorption properties of thin-walled corrugated tubes with sinusoidal patterns

•Circular tube with sinusoidal pattern is considered.•Buckling and energy absorption capability of corrugated tube are superior to the circular tube.•The corrugated tube is an ideal protective structure.•Deformation of corrugated tubes classifiy into three modes.•The theoretical equation of dynamic plastic buckling is developed.

Corrugated tubes with sinusoidal patterns were studied to improve the energy absorption properties of traditional circular tubes and reduce the initial peak force. The effects of the radius-thickness ratio, wavelength, and amplitude of corrugated tubes under an axial impact were determined using the LS-DYNA. The numerical simulations show that tube deformation can be classified into three crushed modes, namely, dynamic asymptotic buckling, dynamic plastic buckling, and transition buckling. The theoretical equation for dynamic plastic buckling was developed to predict the impact force using certain assumptions. The theoretical prediction results are consistent with the findings of the numerical simulations.