Analysis of impact resistance of linear gradient wall thickness circular star thin walled tube

This article introduces a novel circular star-shaped thin-walled structure, featuring a circular outer wall and an inner wall embedded with multiple angular star shapes. The structure’s wall thickness is controlled in a gradient form using various linear functions. Utilizing Abaqus for parametric finite element analysis, this research investigates the influence of design parameters, specifically the number of star angles and wall thickness differences under different gradient functions, on the crashworthiness of the thin-walled structure. Results demonstrate that thin-walled tubes with a gradient wall thickness exhibit a more efficient material distribution and improved impact resistance compared to tubes with uniform wall thickness. Furthermore, an analysis of the collapse modes of thin-walled circular star-shaped tubes with specific angles is conducted to examine how deformation modes and wrinkle shapes affect their impact resistance. Finally, average crushing force formulas for circular star-shaped thin-walled tubes with different wall thickness differences are derived using theoretical predictions. The findings demonstrate that the prediction accuracy for circular star-shaped thin-walled structures with specific wall thickness differences is more precise and aligns better with actual trends. This study provides a reliable design approach for optimizing high-performance impact-resistant structures, with potential applications in future impact-resistant devices.