Crashworthiness analysis of empty singular aluminium tubes with varying shapes in LS-Dyna

In the case of a crash, vehicles travelling at high speed would suffer terribly due to the force of the impact. That is why an impact attenuator (IA) is necessary to reduce the crash impact. This is especially vital in competitions such as Formula SAE. The desired impact IA would be lightweight and strong at the same time. This study focuses on the use of single 6061-T6 aluminium tubes as the make-up of an IA. Crashworthiness of various shaped tubes is studied and simulated using LS-Dyna. The hexagonal tube is expected to have the highest amount of energy absorbed. Concurring with the simulation results, the hexagonal tube absorbed the most amount of energy, followed closely by the cylindrical tube and last is the square tube.