Session: 01-01-01: General Topics of Aerospace Structures

Paper Number: 108398

108398 - A Review of Analytical Models for Determining the Behavior of Metallic Tubular Structures Submitted to Axial Crushing 

By 2050, the aviation sector aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions[1];  this would require new aircraft designs with increased aerodynamic efficiency and sustainable propulsion technologies (SAF, hydrogen, and electric). Such aerodynamically efficient designs tend to have an ovalized fuselage structure, a departure from the jetliners of the present day. Ovalization decreases the available crushing distance between the passenger floor and the ground [2], making the crashworthiness design for these aircraft significantly challenging. Additionally, historical crash data for such aircraft is not available. Therefore, this shift to new disruptive aircraft configurations makes it essential that methods be developed to determine crashworthiness in the preliminary design phase in order to avoid drastic design changes at later stages of the design process.

Axial crushing is one of the significant energy-absorbing mechanisms in aircraft crashes. Analytical models that can predict the crushing behavior are essential to account for the energy absorbed by vertical struts submitted to axial crushing in the preliminary design phase. Multiple analytical models exist in the literature (for example: [3-6]), which makes it necessary to revisit them in order to identify which of these are the most suited for the purpose of design for crashworthiness in the preliminary design phase.

This paper reviews the analytical models available in the literature for the crushing of metallic tubular structures with various cross-sectional shapes. A database of experimental data was created by collecting the results from the literature. Subsequently, the predictions obtained using the various analytical models were compared with this database of experimental results. Further, the analytical model predictions were compared to results generated using Finite-Element Method (FEM). Finally, the sensitivity of these analytical models to various material and geometrical parameters was also studied.

 

References:

1.            Our Commitment to Fly Net Zero by 2050, International Air Transport Association, https://www.iata.org/en/programs/environment/flynetzero/.

2.            Oosterom, W.J., Flying-V Family Design. 2021.

3.            Abramowicz, W. and N. Jones, Dynamic axial crushing of circular tubes. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 1984. 2(3): p. 263-281.

4.            Abramowicz, W. and N. Jones, Dynamic axial crushing of square tubes. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 1984. 2(2): p. 179-208.

5.            Tabacu, S. and C. Ducu, An analytical solution for the estimate of the mean crushing force of structures with polygonal and star-shaped cross-sections subjected to axial load. International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 2019. 161-162: p. 105010-105010.

6.            Wierzbicki, T., Optimum design of integrated front panel against crash, report for Ford motor company. 1983, Vehicle component department.

 

Presenting Author: Shreyas Anand TU Delft

Presenting Author Biography: I am a first-year Ph.D. candidate at TU Delft working on low-fidelity modeling of crash in preliminary design. I hold a master's degree in aerospace structures from ISAE-Supaero, Toulouse, France, and a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal, India.

Authors:

Shreyas Anand TU Delft
René Alderliesten TU Delft
Saullo Giovani Pereira Castro TU Delft