Crashworthiness analysis of axially varying thickness multi-cell tubes based on origami folding under oblique impact

This study presents a novel approach to the design of a multi-cell tube based on the principles of origami. Specifically, the creases formed by folding square origami were utilized to create a unique structural configuration. Experimental validation was conducted to ensure the accuracy of the finite element model. A comparative analysis was subsequently performed to evaluate the performance of varying thickness polygonal origami folding multi-cell tubes (POFMT-VT) in comparison with traditional square tubes (TST) and varying thickness square tubes (ST-VT). The results indicate that the POFMT-VT structure exhibited higher energy absorption values than both the TST and ST-VT structures at impact angles of 0° and 20°. Notably, at an impact angle of 20°, the initial peak crushing force of the POFMT-VT structure significantly decreased relative to the other two structures, with reductions of 84.21% compared to the TST structure and 83.05% compared to the ST-VT structure. Furthermore, a parametric study was conducted to investigate the influence of the coefficient of variation of axial thickness (k) and impact angle (θ) on the energy absorption of the POFMT-VT structure. The findings demonstrated that the k value had a more pronounced effect on the structure’s deformation during oblique impacts of 20° and 30°, with deformation becoming increasingly stable as k increased. Additionally, under oblique impact conditions, the energy absorption of the structure exhibited significant variations as the impact angle (θ) changed. Specifically, as θ increased, the initial peak force decreased, resulting in a reduction in the overall energy absorption capacity.