Experimental and Numerical Study of the Effect of Longitudinal Reinforcements on Cylindrical and Conical Absorbers under Impact Loading

This article analyses the experimental and numerical tests of cylindrical and conical absorbers with longitudinal reinforcements under impact loading. Specimens were put under free fall loading by Drop Hammer and their energy absorption, initial peak force, average force, and crush length were calculated. Then, the obtained results were compared with the results of numerical tests. The results of experimental tests have an acceptable adaptation with numerical tests. Moreover, the number of reinforcements was a part of studied parameters and various parameters of these specimens were compared with the increasing number of reinforcements too. According to the results from the performed tests and simulations, crush length decreases and initial peak force increases with the increasing number of reinforcements. Among different specimens, cylindrical specimens have a lower crush length and a higher initial peak force compared with conical specimens with the same number of longitudinal reinforcements. Finally, by comparing the obtained results, it is concluded that the conical specimens are better energy absorbers under free fall loading compared with cylindrical specimens.