Using Finite Element Approach for Crashworthiness Assessment of a Polymeric Auxetic Structure Subjected to the Axial Loading

Polyurethane foams are one of the most common auxetic structures regarding energy absorption enhancement. This present study evaluates the result reliability of two different numerical approaches, the H-method and the P-method, to obtain the best convergence solution. A polymeric re-entrant cell is created with a beam element and the results of the two different methods are compared. Additionally, the numerical results compare well with the analytical solution. The results show that there is a good agreement between converged FE models and the analytical solution. Regarding the computational cost, the P-method is more efficient for simulating the re-entrant structure subjected to axial loading. During the second part of this study, the re-entrant cell is used for generating a polymeric auxetic cellular tube. The mesh convergence study is performed on the cellular structures using the H- and P- methods. The cellular tube is subjected to tensional and compressive loading, the module of elasticity and Poisson’s ration to calculate different aspect ratios. A nonlinear analysis is performed to compare the dynamic response of a cellular tube versus a solid tube. The crashworthiness indicators are addressed and the results are compared with equivalent solid tubes. The results show that the auxetic cellular tubes have better responses against compressive loading. The primary outcome of this research is to assess a reliable FE approach for re-entrant structures under axial loading.