Experimental and numerical studies on the behavior of cylindrical and conical shells with varying thickness along the length sujected to axial compres
The behavior of aluminum cylindrical and conical shells of thickness variation along their lengths subjected to quasi-static axial compression was examined. The study was conducted using experimental and FE simulation approaches. The cylinders had mean radius of 25 mm, while the cones had smaller and larger radii of 15 mm and 35 mm respectively. Their thicknesses were increased linearly from top end to bottom end with the thickness ratio (TR) of 0.0, 0.1 and 0.2. The mean thicknesses of specimens were 1.0 mm, 1.5 mm and 2.0 mm. The numerical simulations on those experiments were also conducted using the finite element code, ABAQUS. The results from experiment and FEA simulation were compared and good agreement was achieved. It was found that the energy absorption capacity of cylinder with thickness varying along the length is increasing as the value of TR increases. In contrast, the cone with thickness varying along the length seems to lose its energy absorption capacity as the value of TR increases. In addition, their deformation histories and load-displacement curves were presented and discussed.
