A Synergistic Approach Combining Surface Enhancement and Buckling Modes for Improved Axial Crushing Performance of Thin-Walled Tubes

In this study, thin-walled tubes were circumferentially strengthened by plasticity ball burnishing of critical locations determined from buckling mode analysis. Axial crush test results revealed that the surface-treated (ST) tubes increased localized yield strength, attained superior crashworthiness performance, and triggered predictable deformation modes according to the buckling modes of the tubes. Numerical analysis was performed and successfully validated with the experiment at 90% prediction accuracy. The treated tube ST-4 with the 12th buckling mode outperformed a conventional tube with an increase in specific energy absorption (SEA) and crush force efficiency (CFE) by up to 70% while sustaining a low increase in initial peak force (IPF). Furthermore, the tube demonstrated a greater rate of energy dissipation compared to tubes with conventional surface-treated patterns at the same level of surface-treated area. The crashworthiness performance improved as the surface-treated area ratio increased. A theoretical model was developed for the surface-treated tube based on fundamental deformation kinematics, predicting mean crushing force and total energy absorption with acceptable accuracy. The findings strongly suggest that the proposed surface-enhanced tubes have great potential to be used as energy-absorbing structures in crashworthiness applications.