Experimental and numerical study on the low-velocity impact behavior of metal-cutting energy absorbers

This study conducted both experimental and numerical investigations on the impact behavior of metal-cutting energy absorbers under low-velocity, high-mass impact. Twenty-seven impact tests were performed on metal-cutting energy absorbers, considering three different cutting tubular workpieces and four cutting tool materials. This study examined the parameters that affect the behavior of metal-cutting energy absorbers, such as the cutting tube material, cutting tool material, cutting width, cutting depth, and impact height. Based on the experimental observations, three typical cutting processes, an energy dissipation mechanism, and two failure modes were proposed. The results demonstrated that the peak crushing force, mean crushing force, specific cutting energy, and crush force efficiency were significantly influenced by the cutting tool material, cutting tube material, cutting width, and cutting depth. In contrast, the impact height had a negligible effect on the energy absorbers, whereas the strain rate had only a slight influence. Furthermore, a finite element model of the metal-cutting energy absorbers was established and verified by comparing with experimental results. The numerical simulation analysis considered parameters such as the cutting width, cutting depth, rake angle, and relief angle, all of which significantly influenced the peak crushing force and specific cutting energy. Finally, a design formula was derived based on the parametric finite element analysis.