Author(s)

S S Hsu & N Jones

Abstract

Twenty-five quasi-static and forty-three dynamic axial crushing tests have been performed on square and circular stainless steel type 304 specimens in order to investigate the transitions between dynamic progressive buckling and global bending of thin-walled tubes. The columns consisted of three different circular (mean diameter/ thickness, 2R/H = 7,5, 22, 47) and three different square (mean width/ thickness, C/H = 7.7, 24, 42) cross-sections, which are representative of ‘thick’, ‘intermediate’ and ‘thin’ shells, and have a range of different lengths, L, (3.38 < L/2R <15.45 and 3.37 s L/C < 20.8) that encompass the two failure modes. Standard collapse modes were identified for the structures and the associated energy absorbing characteristics have been examined and compared with previous studies on mild steel tubes. Empirical formulae for the critical slenderness ratios for the transition between modes are suggested and the material properties of the stainless steels obtained by standard static and dynamic tensile tests are also reported.

Keywords