Experimental and Numerical Studies on the Impact Energy Absorption of Cutting Shear Rings

Abstract

To improve the passive safety of the collision process, we designed a kind of energy absorption device based on cutting shear rings (CSR). It can be installed in a limited space, overcoming the characteristic of traditional energy absorption devices that cannot play their advantages in a narrow space, and it will not be accompanied by the splashing of chips in the process of energy absorption. The impact energy absorption characteristics of the shear rings outside the energy absorption rods are analyzed. The feasibility of the finite element method to study the device’s characteristics is demonstrated through the combination of the drop hammer test and numerical simulation. At the same time, the device’s responses under nine different working cases are simulated, and the impact energy absorption characteristics of the shear rings are analyzed. Moreover, the effects of shear ring thickness and spacing on the device are also analyzed. The results show that there are several peak forces during the energy absorption process, and each peak force is accompanied by the failure of the shear ring. The shear rings’ thickness correlates positively with energy absorption and peak force. But the spacing of shear rings only affects the number of peak forces. There is a linear trend between the shear rings’ spacing and energy absorption, and the slope of the trend increases with the increase in thickness.