Axial Impact Study on Tubes for Vehicle Safety Tests

This work aims the experimental and theoretical investigation of axial impact on round transversal section tubes focusing its application on sled tests for passive safety systems' development. In particular, this work aimed to develop and implement a methodology able to determine initial impact velocity, number and length of tubes in order to obtain a specific sled's deceleration curve. For this purpose, analytical models that describe the buckling phenomena were studied and were as basis to propose models that associates striking mass deceleration and number of tubes. Once implemented in MS Excel, the new methodology was applied on experimental tests and its results compared to the ones from analytical models. Experimental impact tests were conducted in the drop hammer rig of the Group of Solid Mechanics and Structural Impact and in the Vehicle Impact Center of Volkswagen do Brasil with steel and aluminum alloy tubes and the experimental results were very similar with the expected, validating the methodology.