On the crashworthiness of single- and multi-cell arched beams fabricated by three-point bending method

Single-cell arched beams show excellent energy absorption performances under transverse loads. However, the fabrication of arched beams with a perfect arc segment is relatively tricky and expensive by casting or additive manufacturing technology. In this paper, a simple three-point bending method is proposed for the fabrication of single- or multi-cell arched beams. Although indentation or concave is formed in the central region of arched beams during fabrication, the beams show even better energy absorption performances than the perfect arched beams. Static and dynamic three-point bending tests of the fabricated arched beams are first carried out, and numerical simulations of the fabrication process and the subsequent bending collapse are then performed. The influences of the fabrication factors on the performances of the arched beams are investigated. Arched beams with tube fillers and multi-cell sections can be easily fabricated by the proposed method, and the crashworthiness performances of these fabricated arched beams are significantly improved. In addition, the multi-cell arched beams fabricated by the present method exhibit excellent performances and outperform the arched beams with a perfect arc segment.