Energy Absorption by the Structural Collapse of Spot-Welded Sheet Metal Sections

The crush characteristics of various spot-welded sections were assessed on the basis of material property and geometry contributions, according to three structural collapse models. It was found that the predicted mean crush loads differed significantly from the measured values in many cases, particularly for the heavier wall sections, when models based upon effective plate width concepts were used. An alternative method was shown to be applicable to any geometry and clearly revealed that flange proportions larger relative to the section size, or, extreme ratios of side dimensions were deleterious with regard to the crush resistance of the section on a relative density basis.