Multi-Axial Collapse of Rectangular Section Tubes and Its Modelling in Finite Element Analysis

The paper reviews the main results of the theoretical and experimental analysis of the multiaxial collapse modes in rectangular section tubes used in bus and other vehicle structures. The tubes were tested quasistatically to collapse under the uniaxial bending, biaxial bending, pure torsion, torsion combined with uniaxial bending and torsion combined with biaxial bending. Hinge characteristics under multiaxial loading were simulated by a combination of the uniaxial collapse data. The analytical model compared well with the experiments.