Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Grooved Thin-Walled Steel Cylinders Under Axial Compression

Abstract

In this study, axial compression behavior of grooved thin-walled steel cylinders is investigated using experimental and numerical methods. Circumferential grooves are generated by means of a special forming tools and the effect of interval between the grooves and their total number on the load-displacement curve, energy absorption-displacement curves and initial buckling load are investigated. It is revealed that having circumferential grooves on the tubes can decrease the initial peak load in load-displacement curve and also increase the amount of absorbed energy. Then explicit Finite Element Model of aforementioned grooved tubes under axial loading are generated using ANSYS software and solved utilizing LSDYNA solver. Result of the FE models (containing the amount of absorbed energy, the peak load and the load-displacement curve during axial compression) are validated by comparing them with those of experimental test. The outcome of comparisons confirms the FE model to be in a good agreement with experimental results.