Energy-absorbing effectiveness factor

A study is reported on the energy-absorbing effectiveness factor which was introduced recently. The factor is defined as the quotient of the total energy, which can be absorbed in a system, to the maximum energy up to failure in a normal tensile specimen, which is made from the same volume of material. This dimensionless parameter allows comparisons to be made of the effectiveness of various geometrical shapes and of energy absorbers made from different materials. The influence of material properties and various geometrical parameters on the value of the dimensionless parameter has been examined for the static and dynamic axial crushing behaviours of thin-walled sections. The influence of foam fillings and the stiffening of circular and square tubes is examined.