Effect of Inertia On Energy Absorption

* Corresponding author.
International Journal of Impact Engineering 22 (1999) 955}979

Inertia e!ects in impact energy absorbing materials
and structures
J.J. Harrigan, S.R. Reid*, C. Peng
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UMIST, P.O. Box 88, Manchester M60 1QD, UK
Received 2 October 1998; received in revised form 29 June 1999
Abstract
Experimental data and numerical/computational models concerning the internal inversion of metal tubes
and the dynamic crushing of aluminium honeycombs are presented and discussed as illustrations of impact
energy absorbers whose behaviour is strongly in#uenced by inertial e!ects. 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.
All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Numerous materials and structural components have been investigated over the years for their
suitability as impact energy absorbers. This work has generated an extensive literature some of
which has been reviewed [1,2]. Modelling the crushing of single structural components and
assemblies of such components has resulted in the solution of a range of challenging large-
de#ection, structural plasticity problems. As an example, recently Reid and Harrigan have de-
scribed some results from a study of the behaviour of inversion tubes. Equally, there has been
considerable interest in understanding the behaviour of cellular materials as impact energy
absorbers, as exempli"ed by the recent work on wood by the authors [3,4]. The link between these
two studies is an attempt to clarify the role of inertia in the characteristics of the energy absorber,
especially in terms of the magnitudes of the forces (stresses) generated during impact loading.
In this paper additional results are presented which highlight inertia e!ects. Early peak loads
occur under impact loading of both inversion tubes and axially loaded honeycombs as a conse-
quence of lateral inertia. The magnitude of these early peaks is governed by the properties of the
0734-743X/99/$- see front matter 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 7 3 4 - 7 4 3 X( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 3 7 - 8
Nomenclature
A cross-sectional area
C
"
plastic wave speed
E elastic modulus
l
"
original length
'
axial load at distal end of specimen
``
quasi-static steady-state load
m, m
'
, m
'
masses of piston, knuckle region and fully inverted part of tube, respectively
p
'
barrel pressure
r die forming radius
S
'
stress ratio
v velocity
<
"
impact velocity
'
locking strain
'
plastic strain
Poisson ratio
'
mass per unit length
"
original density
"
initial peak crushing stress
plateau stress
'
crushing strength of r-p-p-l material
H stress inside shock front
material of the tube or honeycomb wall. Further details of the behaviour of inversion tubes are
presented which illustrate how the high inertia-generated forces can be moderated by changing
the geometry of the tube. The cellular structure of the honeycomb is responsible for further
enhancements of the quasi-static crushing strength as the deformation continues. New results
concerning the dynamic crushing of aluminium honeycombs at high velocities are presented and
discussed. The high initial peak load is moderated by pre-crushing the honeycomb specimens. In
both cases the results are presented in summary form. More extensive treatments will be published
elsewhere.
2. Internal inversion of tapered metal tubes
A recent in-depth study of internal inversion by Harrigan [5] has shown that there are
circumstances in which dynamic e!ects can lead to force peaks which exceed the steady-state
inversion forces and as such need to be explained and drawn to the attention of designers. The
initial study of tubes with uniform thickness has been described in a recent paper by Reid and
Harrigan [6]. This includes both experimental data and "nite element models generated using
956 J.J. Harrigan et al. / International Journal of Impact Engineering 22 (1999) 955}979
Fig. 1. Quasi-static loading arrangement and die geometries.
ABAQUS/Standard. A summary of some additional results is presented below in which particular
emphasis is placed on the behaviour of tubes with tapered ends.
2.1. Quasi-static behaviour
Quasi-static inversion of tubes was achieved by compressing the tubes axially into dies with
forming radii of 5 and 10 mm (Fig. 1). The material used was cold drawn steel (BS6323/4 1982 CFS
3BK) which will be referred to throughout the text as `mild steela. For all tests the material was
used in the `as-supplieda condition without heat treatment. The specimens had an axial length of
75 mm, a nominal outside diameter of 101.6 mm and were cut from cold-drawn, seamless metal
tubing with a wall thickness in the range of 3}3.5 mm. Various wall thicknesses were produced by
machining the tubes.
The specimen dimensions and compressive stress}strain curve are shown in Fig. 2. To obtain the
material properties (Fig. 2(a)) rings with an initial height of 10 mm were cut from the mild steel tube
and compressed between the #at platens of a 3000 kN Amsler testing machine. It should be noted
that tubes with di!erent leading edge geometries were tested, three of them (square-edged,
chamfered and short tapered) di!ering only at a detailed level, whilst the fourth had a tapered
region of approximately 20 mm in length. The quasi-static tests were carried out on either a 200 kN
RDP or a 500 kN Instron (model 1345) testing machine, depending on the load capacity required.
A cross-head speed of 10 mm/min was used. During quasi-static testing the specimens were
constrained within a steel constraining tube (Fig. 1). A hardened steel pusher tube with an internal
diameter of 88 mm was used to compress the specimens into the dies. These quasi-static dies were
cut from hardened tool steel (EN24T), with all contact surfaces polished. The polished surfaces
of the die and constraining tube were coated with Shell Alvania Grease 2 and Molybdenum
Disulphide Lubricant.
J.J. Harrigan et al. / International Journal of Impact Engineering 22 (1999) 955}979 957
Fig. 2. Stress}strain curve and dimensions of mild steel tubes.
For tube specimens with a 1 mm chamfer radius (Fig. 2), the e!ect that increasing the die radius
has on the load}displacement curves is illustrated in Fig. 3. As the forming radius r is increased the
stage 1 load reduces as does the slope of the load}displacement curve at the beginning of stage 2.
These e!ects have been discussed in detail with reference to "nite element modelling using
ABAQUS by Reid and Harrigan [6], who used a coe$cient of friction of 0.15 to obtain the
numerical solutions shown in Fig. 3. A friction coe$cient of 0.15 may appear high for a well
lubricated contact surface. However, this value has produced good correlation with experimental
data for a range of wall thicknesses and die radii [6]. Furthermore the combination of pressure and
sliding at the contact surface is such that the lubricant tends to be removed from this surface so that
the tube and die appear dry after the test.
Fig. 3. Typical load}displacement curves and approximate shapes for quasi-static internal inversion.
Load}displacement results for the internal inversion of tubes with long and short tapers are
plotted in Fig. 4. Some photographs of inverted specimens are provided in Fig. 5. The separate
stages of the deformation processes are indicated in Fig. 4 for the 2 mm thick tubes with short
tapers at their leading edges.
Load}displacement results for inversion through the die with a 5 mm forming radius are plotted
in Fig. 4(a). Specimens 1}4 are inverted to produce axisymmetric cylindrical regions free from
circumferential buckle patterns (see Fig. 5). For all specimens inverted through the 5 mm radius die,
the leading curled section struck the pusher tube at a stroke of approximately 45 mm, causing the
load to rise sharply. For specimen 1 the three stages are clearly de"ned in the load}displacement
curve.
Further results for inversion through the die with a 10 mm forming radius, for tubes with tapered
leading edges, are given in Fig. 4(b). The 2 mm thick tube with a short-taper leading end (specimen
5) had a similar inversion characteristic when axially compressed into the 10 mm radius die to
a specimen with a chamfer radius at its end (Fig. 3(b)). For these two tubes, second contact occurred
at similar loads, unloading was evident to mark the second instability, and similar steady-state
inversion loads were reached. However, inversion of the 2 mm thick long-taper ended tube
(specimen 6) resulted in a far smoother load}displacement relationship during stages 1 and 2 and
Fig. 4. Quasi-static load}displacement curves for inversion of tubes with long and short tapers.
no unloading was evident when this specimen was tested. Surprisingly, this tube also achieved
steady-state inversion at a noticeably lower load than the other tubes of equal wall thickness.
Photographs of 2 mm thick tubes, inverted through the 10 mm radius die are shown in Fig. 5(b).
Prominent circumferential buckle patterns can be seen at the leading rim of the inverted long-taper
ended specimen (6). Although barely visible, this circumferential ripple pattern runs axially along
the full length of the `cylindricala inverted section of the specimen. Though less pronounced, but
detectable through touch, a similar pattern existed through the deformed portion of the short-taper
ended specimen (5). The chamfer-radius ended specimen had no buckle patterns in its inverted
cylindrical section, although slight ripples can be seen at its leading edge.
Fig. 5. Quasi-statically inverted specimens.
It therefore appears that for tubes with thinner end sections, buckles that are "rst initiated in
these thin-walled regions can spread through the thicker regions of the tube as the specimen is
inverting, resulting in a loss of axisymmetry in the inverted `cylindricala section. The circumferen-
tial plastic buckling initiates circumferential plastic folding. This reduces the rate of dissipation of
energy through circumferential compression and is the most likely cause of the lower than expected
steady-state inversion load for specimen 6.
Specimens 7 and 8 (t
"1.5 mm, r"10 mm, ST and LT, respectively) inverted at similar

steady-state loads (Fig. 4(b)). Circumferential buckles were again more evident in the specimen with
the longer taper (Fig. 5(c)) and this specimen's steady-state inversion load is again slightly lower
than that of the short-taper ended tube. The leading edge of specimen 8 curled to a greater extent
than any other specimen inverted through the 10 mm radius and testing this specimen produced
the smoothest load}displacement relationship obtained for inversion.
2.2. Dynamic response
A series of dynamic tests was carried out using mild steel tube specimens that were of the same
material and had identical dimensions to tubes that had been tested quasi-statically, in order to
determine the correlation between the quasi-static load}displacement characteristic and the
Fig. 6. Set-up and piston dimensions for dynamic inversion.
equivalent dynamic behaviour. Dynamic inversion was achieved using shaped projectiles (pistons)
of mass m (approximately 1.1}1.3 kg) which were "red axially at stationary tubes using the facility
shown in Fig. 6. These pistons had the same internal forming radii as the dies that were used in
the quasi-static tests and the impact took place within the barrel of a pneumatic gun. The
instrumentation allowed for the force pulse transmitted to the support to be measured (see [6]
for details).
Typical load traces are plotted in Fig. 7 for impact velocities of approximately 100 m/s. The
maximum loads recorded during each test are plotted in Fig. 8(a) and plots of energy absorbed
against "nal stroke are given in Fig. 8(b). Photographs of deformed specimens are provided
in Fig. 9.
Stage 3 loads recorded at the distal end of the tubes during dynamic inversion were less
than those measured during equivalent quasi-static tests. This phenomenon is a result of tube
inertia and has been explained by means of a simple theoretical model for stage 3 of dynamic
internal inversion by Reid and Harrigan [6]. The dynamic stage 3 load for forced inversion is
given by
'
"P
'
A#(
``
!P
'
A#2
'
v`)
(m#m
'
#2m
'
)
(m#m
'
#4m
'
)
!2
'
v`, (1)
Fig. 7. Experimental results and ABAQUS solutions for dynamic inversion (mild steel, t
'
"2 mm).
where
'
is the load at the distal end of the specimen, p
'
is the pressure behind the piston
(see Fig. 6), A is the cross-sectional area of the piston,
``
is the quasi-static steady-state load,
'
is the mass per unit length of the tube, v is the instantaneous velocity of the piston, and m, m
'
and m
'
are the masses of the piston, the knuckle region and the fully inverted portion of the
tube, respectively.
Fig. 8. Maximum loads recorded and energy absorbed during dynamic inversion.
The load trace plotted in Fig. 7(a) illustrates the early peak load that was recorded during
dynamic inversion by the 5 mm piston for all 2 mm thick specimens which had a short-taper
end-shape. Tests on specimens with the same thickness but long-taper ends produced load traces
with a much reduced early maximum, which was generally exceeded by loads recorded during stage
3 of the load pulse as shown in Fig. 7(b). Comparing Fig. 9(a) with the photographs of specimens
inverted quasi-statically through the 5 mm die (Fig. 5(a)) it can be seen that for this forming radius
the dynamically and quasi-statically inverted tubes are very similar in shape, i.e. no buckling has
Fig. 9. Dynamically inverted specimens.
occurred during any of the tests and all tubes have inverted well to form approximately co-axial
cylinders of smaller diameter than the original.
For tests performed using pistons with a 10 mm forming radius, typical photographs of tested
specimens are shown in Fig. 9(b). Again the maximum load recorded for short-tapered specimens
occurred early on in the crushing period although peak loads were less than those recorded during
tests on similar tubes with the 5 mm piston (Fig. 8(a)). Noticeable again was a reduction in peak
loads for tests conducted on long-taper ended tubes (see Figs. 7(c) and 8(a)(ii)).
Comparing the photographs of dynamically inverted tubes (Fig. 9(b)) with the quasi-static
equivalents (Fig. 5(b)) it can be seen that the leading edge curled to a far less degree during dynamic
testing. Furthermore, the 10 mm piston never created a co-axial cylinder from the test specimen,
but rather a circumferentially buckled conical section, with the leading section apparently reducing
in circumference during the `steady phasea.
Obviously, reductions in tube wall thickness increases the tendency of tubes to buckle under
compressive loading. This showed itself in the appearance of circumferential buckle patterns in
certain tubes.
In terms of energy-absorbed against "nal stroke, the dynamic results agree well with the quasi-
static energy-displacement relationships for inversion through a 5 mm forming radius (Fig. 8(b)).
Considering the strain-rate sensitivity of mild steel, this level of agreement is somewhat surprising.
When a 10 mm forming radius was used to promote inversion, the quasi-static energy}displace-
ment curves did not predict the dynamic energy absorption with such accuracy (Fig. 8(b)(ii)). There
is also a more noticeable di!erence between the shapes of dynamically and quasi-statically inverted
specimens (Figs. 5 and 9).
2.3. Modelling
ABAQUS/Standard was employed in the "nite element modelling of the internal inversion
problems and details of the approach used are given in Ref. [6]. The material was assumed to be
elastic (E"200 GN/m`, "0.3), linear strain-hardening (
"570#211
'
MN/m`) with no
strain-rate dependence. A density of 7850 kg/m` was assumed. The tube was made up of eight-
noded axisymmetric solid-continuum elements. Axisymmetric rigid surface elements monitored
contact between the rigid surfaces and the tube. The nodes at the distal end of the tube were axially
constrained while the piston rigid-surface was given a mass and an initial velocity. A coe$cient of
friction of 0.15 was used for the cases considered.
As indicated in Figs. 3 and 7, there is often excellent agreement between the ABAQUS
simulation and the experimental results despite the fact that the "nite element analysis is
restricted to axisymmetric deformation modes. After an initial set of tests the ABAQUS models
were used to select geometries for which the high initial peak loads were removed. When the
Cowper-Symonds equation was used to model the strain-rate e!ects the dynamic load predictions
greatly over-estimated those that were recorded experimentally. This is not surprising as the
Cowper-Symonds equation only applies to small strains and not the large plastic strains which
occur during inversion. More details of the "nite element results will be provided in a future
publication.
3. Dynamic crushing strength of aluminium honeycombs
Aluminium honeycombs are low density structures with relatively high speci"c strength,
sti!ness and energy absorption characteristics. The quasi-static behaviour of aluminium honey-
combs (i.e. under low loading rates) has been investigated by several authors, however there is little
published information on their dynamic response apart from the very recent paper by Wu and
Jiang [10].
The cell geometry of man-made honeycombs is similar to that seen in natural cellular composite
materials such as wood, see Reid et al. [2]. The similarities are not only con"ned to the geometry of
the cellular assemblies but also extend to the shapes of their load}compression curves and even to
their local deformation mechanisms. It is the similarity in cellular structure and quasi-static
load}compression curves that enables the same treatment to be applied to the two materials as the
local deformations are not considered in the analysis. For wood there is a signi"cant enhancement
in the crushing strength with increasing impact velocity and this has been attributed by Reid et al.
[2,3] to inertial e!ects in the cellular array including microinertia which a!ects the initial crushing
strength of wood loaded along the grain in the same way that lateral inertia of the cell walls
increases the initial impact load for honeycomb. Additionally the shock formation which elevates
the plateau crushing strength of woods is mirrored in the results for honeycomb. A shock model for
wood has been described in [3] and similar models have been formulated to predict the dynamic
response of man-made foams were developed by Jahsman [7] and Zaretsky et al. [8].
Goldsmith and Sackman [9] provided experimental data on the uniaxial dynamic crushing of
aluminium honeycombs at impact velocities up to 35 m/s using slightly rounded projectile as part
of a study of the impact response of sandwich panel with honeycomb cores. They noted an increase
of about 20}50% in the plateau crush stress over the range of loading. Recently, Wu and Jiang [10]
investigated the static and impact crushing of various types of aluminium honeycombs. Their
impact tests were performed at velocities up to 27 m/s. They observed a signi"cant increase of
about 74% in the average dynamic crush strength when the specimens were loaded dynamically
compared with the quasi-static crush strength.
This section summarises the results of an investigation of the in#uence of dynamic e!ects upon
the initial peak stress, the plateau crushing strength and the energy absorption characteristics of
aluminium honeycomb samples under out-of-plane loading. Experimental results obtained from
impact tests on short cylindrical aluminium honeycomb specimens over a range of impact
velocities up to 300 m/s are compared with the theoretical results from the simple shock model
previously developed by Reid and Peng [3].
3.1. Experimental testing programme
3.1.1. Material specixcation
Material: Aluminium alloy 5050
Core designation: 2.3 1/4 10 5052
Nominal core density:
"37 kg/m`
Measured core density:
"42 kg/m`
Nominal cell size: s"6.35 mm
Nominal cell side length:
l"s/(3"3.67 mm
Nominal cell wall thickness: t"0.254 mm
Measured cell wall thickness: t"0.049 mm (single wall)
Honeycomb specimen length: 30 mm (undeformed)
25 mm (pre-crushed)
Skins: Aluminium alloy 2024 of 1 mm thickness
Solid material density:
'
"2700 kg/m`
Measured tensile yield stress of cell wall material:
`
"135 N/mm`
Aluminium Young's modulus: E
'
"68.5 kN/mm`
Solid material Poisson's ratio:
'
"0.3
Each cell has six sides, four of which are single-thickness and two sides are double-thick-
ness.
The honeycomb specimens tested formed two sets, uncrushed single-skin samples and pre-
crushed single-skin samples, respectively. The skin referred to is a 1 mm thick aluminium alloy
2024 disc glued to one of the end surfaces of the honeycomb specimen. The impact surface of the
specimens tested is the end surface with no aluminiumskin. The overall testing programme consists
of uniaxial quasi-static and uniaxial impact tests on aluminium honeycomb cylindrical specimens
of approximately 45 mm diameter and 30 mm length.
The static tests were performed using a Universal testing machine, Instron 4507 at a loading rate
of 1 mm/min under displacement control. The aim of these static tests was to produce the
quasi-static load versus de#ection characteristics for comparison purposes.
In the impact testing only uncrushed samples are tested under both laterally free (uniaxial stress)
and laterally constrained (uniaxial strain) conditions, whereas the pre-crushed samples were tested
only under laterally constrained conditions. Each group of tests was divided into two sets of
samples: samples without and with an additional aluminium backing disc of 45 mm diameter and
12 mm thickness (i.e. 50 gm mass) attached to their rear skins. The added mass provided more
energy to crush the specimens. The results for the backed, initially uncrushed specimens will be the
principal ones discussed in this paper, although some data for the unbacked and pre-crushed
specimens will be included where appropriate. For each set of tests, the samples were tested over
a range of "ve impact velocities from 20 up to 300 m/s approximately. The impact testing rig used
was the same as that used in the study of wood and is described in detail in Ref. [3]. It consists of
a pneumatic launcher, a Hopkinson pressure bar (HPB) load cell for measuring the dynamic force
pulse and a thick-walled chamber for lateral constraint tests. The HPD was 50 mm diameter, 2 m
long and was made of EN24T steel.
3.2. Quasi-static test results
3.2.1. Deformation mechanisms
The mechanics of deformation of thin-walled aluminium honeycomb samples are characterised
by localised and progressive buckling (i.e. diamond type axial buckling) seen as a crush band whose
width is almost linearly proportional to the axial displacement. The onset of this microbuckling
occurs at the weakest zones which can be anywhere in the specimen. Both initially uncrushed and
pre-crushed specimens have the same modes of deformation. Some of the tested samples were
sectioned and photographed immediately after being tested with a view to observing their
deformation pro"les. Fig. 10 shows longitudinal cross-sections of these samples, revealing the
microbuckling deformation. This diamond type of deformation is very similar to that observed in
single hexagonal tubes and in woods of low relative density when subjected to axial compression
(i.e. compression along the grain for woods), see Fig. 10(c).
3.2.2. Static load levels and energy absorption characteristics
The load versus de#ection curves of the honeycomb samples are typical of cellular materials
generally and are characterised by an initial peak force (i.e. which separates the elastic from
inelastic behaviour) followed by a small load drop and then a slightly increasing plateau up
to the locking displacement where a sudden and steep load increase occurs due to material
densi"cation. The small load drop described above did not occur for the pre-crushed samples,
see Fig. 11. For pre-crushed samples the initial crush stress,
, was typically 0.56 N/mm`

compared with 0.93 N/mm` for initially uncrushed samples. Pre-crushing the samples initiated
the inelastic deformation, pre-disposing the specimens to crush at or close to the plateau stress
levels. The values of plateau stresses,
"
, and locking strain,
'
, were 0.53 N/mm` and 0.65 for
all samples.
The energy of deformation was determined from the area under the load versus displacement
curves. The locking energy is the energy used to deform the specimens up to their locking
Fig. 10. Honeycomb specimens subjected to uniaxial quasi-static compression: (a) Development of the crushing band
from the end surface; (b) Initiation and growth of a crushing band from the central parts of the specimen; (c) Similar
crushing bands in Pine wood specimen.
displacements. All the samples tested absorb approximately the same levels of locking energy of
about 18.3 J implying a speci"c energy absorption capacity of 383.5 kJ/m` or 9.1 kJ/kg.
3.3. Impact test results
The impact tests were performed by "ring cylindrical aluminium honeycomb specimens of
45 mm diameter and 30 mm length from a pneumatic launcher on to a Hopkinson pressure bar
(HPB) load cell of 50 mm diameter and 2.4 m length (see Ref. [3]). A range of impact velocities was
covered by varying the air pressure in the reservoir or the position of the specimen in the gun
barrel. These velocities were measured using pairs of photodiodes and light sources close to the
Fig. 11. Quasi-static uniaxial load}displacement curves for aluminium honeycomb specimens.
impact area. The pulses detected by using full-bridge strain gauge stations attached to the HPB
load cell were converted into force}time pulses.
The aluminium cylindrical backing disc attached to some of the honeycomb specimens had
a mass signi"cantly greater than that of the honeycomb specimen. The mass of the specimen was
approximately 2 gm without the skin, 6.3 gm with the skin and 56.3 gm with the backing disc. For
backed specimens it was assumed that the measured pulse was applied to the mass and by
integrating the equation of motion of the mass (neglecting the mass of the honeycomb) an
approximate dynamic force versus displacement relationship was derived and the corresponding
energy absorption capacity of the sample deduced.
3.3.1. Deformation mechanisms
The deformation of the honeycomb cylinders under uniaxial impact loading conditions pro-
gresses through initiation and rapid development of strain localisation which result from local cell
instabilities and dynamic microbuckling of the cell walls. This process is similar to that observed in
the quasi-static loading conditions. However, dynamically, localisation of deformation shows itself
in the form of a crushing wave front moving usually from the impact (proximal) end surface
towards the distal surface of the specimens, see Fig. 12. In terms of deformation modes, there are no
signi"cant di!erences between the uncrushed and pre-crushed samples and samples with and
without backing discs. Samples impacted at high energy often disintegrated fully. This was
a limiting factor when attempting to test samples at high impact velocities, particularly the samples
with aluminium backing discs.
3.3.2. Force pulses and energy absorption characteristics
The force pulses from the impact tests on uncrushed and pre-crushed honeycomb specimens are
shown in Figs. 13 and 14, respectively. In all of these impact tests, the impact face of the honeycomb
Fig. 12. Deformation pro"les of honeycomb specimens subjected to uniaxial impact loading conditions: (a) Specimen
without a backing disc impacted at <
"
"49 m/s; (b) Specimen with a backing disc impacted at <
"
"27 m/s.
specimen is the face without the aluminium skin. As can be seen in these "gures, the force}time
plots of impacted samples are similar in shape to the load versus de#ection curves of statically
tested samples despite the di!erence in the independent variable. The e!ects of impact velocity can
be clearly seen in the levels of enhancement of the initial peak crushing and plateau force, both of
which tend to increase with increase in the impact velocity. These increases can be expressed in
terms of stress ratio, S
'
. For the initial peak loads the stress ratio is de"ned as the initial peak load
in the dynamic load pulse divided by the corresponding quasi-static peak. Similarly the stress ratio
in the plateau region is de"ned as the dynamic load plateau divided by the static value. Typical
stress ratio versus impact velocity curves are shown in Fig. 15 for both the initial peaks and
subsequent plateau forces recorded.
As can be seen in Figs. 15(a) and (b), the level of stress enhancement appears to be insensitive to
laterally free and fully constrained loading conditions. However, for the same impact velocity, the
stress ratios of specimens with backing discs are slightly greater than those of specimens without
backing discs due possibly to inertial e!ects. Some of the force pulses measured were integrated
numerically assuming the force to be applied to the backing disc and neglecting the core mass of the
honeycomb to obtain its displacement-time history. In this way an approximate load}de#ection
relationship was obtained and subsequently the energy absorption characteristics were deduced.
These force}de#ection curves and their corresponding energy versus de#ection plots are shown in
Figs. 16 and 17. In contrast to the quasi-static behaviour, the impact load}de#ection curves of
pre-crushed samples show a load drop immediately following the initial peak force, see Fig. 17(a).
These results indicate clearly that the pre-crushing of the samples does not eliminate the initial
force spike when the samples are loaded dynamically, thus suggesting that it is likely to be of
inertial nature. For the same impact velocity, the initial peak crushing forces of uncrushed samples
Fig. 13. Force pulses of uncrushed honeycomb specimens: (a) Fully constrained specimens without backing discs;
(b) Fully constrained specimens with backing discs.
are slightly greater than those of pre-crushed samples. However, the plateau forces and energy
absorbing characteristics of both uncrushed and pre-crushed samples are almost equal. The
signi"cant enhancement of energy absorption capability of the honeycombs under impact loading
compared to the static energy resulted from the increase in plateau crushing forces with increasing
impact velocity, see Figs. 16(b) and 17(b). The source of this stress enhancement is brie#y discussed
in the next section.
Fig. 14. Force pulses of pre-crushed honeycomb specimens: (a) Laterally free specimens without backing discs;
(b) Laterally free specimens with backing discs.
3.3.3. Shock behaviour of cellular solid materials
The localised nature of deformation and the load-de#ection characteristics of aluminium
honeycombs under uniaxial quasi-static compression loading are typical features of cellular
materials. Previous work by Reid et al. [2,3] showed that a structural shock wave propagation
theory could be used to predict reasonably well the dynamic response of one-dimensional metal
ring systems and woods, particularly when loaded across the grain. The same shock theory is
applied to assess the dynamic crushing strength of aluminium honeycombs under uniaxial impact
loading since their quasi-static load}de#ection characteristics are monotically increasing and
Fig. 15. Comparisons between the shock theory and the experiments: (a) Initial peak stress ratios of uncrushed
honeycombs; (b) Plateau stress ratios of uncrushed honeycombs.
steepening and convex curve towards the de#ection axis apart from the initial peak. The simple
shock model based upon a "rst-order approximation of the behaviour of woods was derived in [3].
It is based upon the assumption that the stress}strain curve of the material is rigid-perfectly-plastic
locking (r-p-p-l) curve which retains the two key features of the inelastic behaviour of woods,
namely the crushing strength
'
and a locking strain
'
as shown in Fig. 18.
As can be seen in Fig. 18, a mass carrying a specimen of initial length l
, cross-sectional area
A and density
is impacting on to a rigid target normally with an impact velocity <
. As soon as
the impact is initiated, a shock wave is produced which moves towards the opposite end of the
Fig. 16. Impact of uncrushed honeycombs with backing discs: (a) Static and dynamic load}displacement curves;
(b) Static and dynamic energy}displacement curves.
specimen. Because of the rigid behaviour (r-p-p-l), at the moment of contact the stress in all the
material ahead of the shock is instantaneously raised to
'
. The material behind the compaction
front is locked to the strain
'
, its particle velocity becomes zero, its density
is raised up to the
locking density
and the stress is raised to H. This stress inside the shock front is de"ned in terms
of the material constants
'
and
'
and the velocity change at the shock front. The equations of
propagation of the shock are derived from algebraic equations of conservation of mass and
momentum which hold across the discontinuity front. These equations were derived in [3]. Here
the key equation for the enhancement of the crushing stress is applied to both the initial peak stress
Fig. 17. Impact of pre-crushed honeycombs with backing discs: (a) Static ad dynamic load}displacement curves;
(b) Static and dynamic energy}displacement curves.
and the plateau stress. This is done by setting the crushing stress (
'
of Fig. 18) equal to the initial
peak stress
'
"
in Fig. 15(a) and then equal to the plateau stress

'
"
"
in Fig. 15(b).
The initial dynamic peak stress, *
"
, is given by
*
"
<`
'
. (2)
and the dynamic plateau crush stress, *
"
, by
*
"
"
"
#
<`
'
. (3)
Fig. 18. Shock propagation model for r-p-p-l material.
The stress ratio is de"ned as
S
'
"
*
, or"
*
"
"
. (4)
3.4. Comparison between shock theory and experimental data
The theoretical predictions are plotted with the experimental stress ratio versus impact velocity
for initially uncrushed honeycomb specimens in Fig. 15. As can be seen, the model tends to
underestimate the initial peak stress ratios but it gives better prediction for the plateau stress ratios.
Similar results are obtained for the pre-crushed specimens. As can be seen in Figs. 14(b) and 15(a),
there are no signi"cant di!erences between the results from laterally free and fully constrained
impact tests. Fig. 15(a) shows that the model tends to underestimate more signi"cantly the
experimental results from tests on specimens with backing discs. But in Fig. 15(b), for the plateau
stress ratios, the agreement between the shock model and the experimental data is good. Fig. 15(b)
includes also some low velocity impact data obtained from Wu and Jiang [10]. Their experimental
data agree reasonably well with our data and shock theory. Despite its limitations, the shock
theory provides good estimates for the enhancement of the dynamic plateau crush stress for
aluminium honeycombs.
It is noted that the initial peak stress increases in an approximately linear fashion as shown in
Fig. 15(a). It is conjectured that this behaviour is controlled by uniaxial plastic wave e!ects which
precede the onset of the progressive collapse mechanism. Employing a bilinear model for the cell
wall material, the initial peak impact stress * can be estimated using uni-directional stress}wave
theory to give
H">#
C
"
(<
!<
7
), (5)
where > is the yield stress, C
"
is the plastic wave speed and <
7
is the impact velocity required to
initiate a plastic wave. The stress ratio is calculated by normalising the predicted impact stress
H with respect to the quasi-static initial peak stress
. The initial peak stress ratio obtained using

the plastic wave theory is plotted in Fig. 15(a) for a plastic wave speed C
"
of 1200 m/s. This value
has not been determined experimentally. Further work is being developed to improve the present
theory and this will be the subject of future papers by the authors.
The results from the uniaxial impact crushing of honeycombs indicate a signi"cant enhancement
of the dynamic crush stresses with increasing impact velocity. When expressed in terms of stress
ratio, the level of this enhancement could be as high by an order of magnitude at impact velocities
of about 300 m/s. It has been observed in both initial peak crush stress and in the dynamic plateau
crush stress. This increase in the dynamic plateau stresses leads to an overall increase in the energy
absorption capacity of the honeycomb specimen.
4. Conclusions
The two examples above illustrate the signi"cant e!ects that inertia can have on the performance
of energy absorbing materials and structures. In the case of the inversion tube, the principal e!ect for
a tube of uniform thickness is to generate an initial peak force in excess of the steady-state stage
3 force due to the phenomenon of `second impacta. This is of considerable importance to the
designer. In addition the reduction in the steady-state force compared with its quasi-static value has
been con"rmed both experimentally and by both "nite element analysis and a simpli"ed theoretical
model. The study of the dynamic crushing of aluminium honeycombs has once more con"rmed the
sensitivity of the crushing stress of a cellular material to impact velocity. The in#uence of inertia at the
cell wall level modi"es the crushing mechanisms leading to enhancements in both the initial crushing
stress and the plateau stress. The latter is well-predicted by the simple rigid/perfectly plastic/locking
shock model, whilst the former appears to be governed by uniaxial plastic wave e!ects.
Acknowledgements
The work outlined in this paper was supported "nancially by the DRA, Fort Halstead (project
SMCFU/9) and by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under grant
GR/K18832. The authors would like to express their gratitude for this support.
References
[1] Johnson W, Reid SR. Metallic energy dissipating systems. Appl Mech Rev, 1978;31:277}88, see also In: Steele CR,
editor. Applied mechanics update. New York: ASME, 1986, p. 303}19.
[2] Reid SR, Reddy TY, Peng C. Dynamic compression of cellular structures and materials. In: Jones N, Wierzbicki T,
editors. Structural Crashworthiness and failure. London: Elsevier, 1993. p. 295}340.
[3] Reid SR, Peng C. Dynamic uniaxial crushing of wood. Int J Impact Engng 1997;19:531}70.
[4] Harrigan JJ, Reid SR, Reddy TY. Inertial e!ects on the crushing strength of wood loaded along the grain. In:
Allison IM, editor. Experimental mechanics. Rotterdam: Balkema, 1998. p. 193}8.
[5] Harrigan JJ. Internal inversion and nosing of laterally constrained metal tubes. PhD Thesis, UMIST, UK, 1995.
[6] Reid SR, Harrigan JJ. Transient e!ects in the quasi-static and dynamic plastic internal inversion and nosing of
metal tubes. Int J Mech Sci 1998;40:263}80.
[7] Jahsman WE. Static and dynamic material behaviour of syntactic foam. In: Lindholm US, editor. Mechanical
behaviour of materials under dynamic loads. Beriln: Springer, 1968. p. 361}87.
[8] Zaretsky E, Ben-dor G. Compressive stress}strain relations and shock Hugoniot curves of #exible foams. ASME
J Engng Material Technol 1995;117:278}87.
[9] Goldsmith W, Sackman JL. An experimental study of energy absorption in impact on sandwich plates. Int J Impact
Engng 1992;12:241}62.
[10] Wu E, Jiang W-S. Axial crush of metallic honeycombs. Int J Impact Engng 1997;12:439}56.

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International Journal of Impact Engineering 22 (1999) 955}979

"1.5 mm, r"10 mm, ST and LT, respectively) inverted at similar

, was typically 0.56 N/mm`

is impacting on to a rigid target normally with an impact velocity <

in Fig. 15(a) and then equal to the plateau stress

. The initial peak stress ratio obtained using

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