Abstract

This paper presents the crash behavior analysis of automotive side member represented by aluminum square column subjected to oblique loading via finite element method. In crash research, energy absorption capacity is greatly affected by the deformation pattern, thus the collapse behavior and deformation pattern of this column is studied and observed. Effect of the geometrical parameters and loading angle, effect of these parameters on crashworthiness parameters that is specific energy absorption (SEA) and crush force efficiency (CFE) are explored. Observation on deformation pattern of the column shows that the bending is more apparent at the upper end for loading angle of 5 to 15° and at the bottom end for loading angle of 20 to 30°. Results also show that SEA and CFE have less effected on the variation of column width. Ultimately, an equation that is expressed as a function of length and thickness is proposed to estimate crashworthiness parameters.

Key words: Column, oblique loading, crashworthiness.