Numerical studies on Laser Welded Top-Hat column under axial collision based on the Concept of Super-folding Element

Extruded longitudinal double-skinned aluminium body plates with integrated stiffeners are recently used for manufacturing in automobile industry like front rails and railway carriages. Theses extrusions provide light and heavy rigid structures. However, since it is not feasible to produce large parts by extrusion, these plates need to be connected, mostly by welding techniques. The crashworthiness performance of laser welded columns is evaluated using finite element (FE) analysis. This is very important in automobiles, since more attention is being paid to crashworthiness of the structures in recent years. The analysis method is based on the Super folding Element (SE) concept, which originates from experimentally observed folding patterns of crushed shell elements. The FE model is used to predict accurately the progressive axial collapse of the lased welded columns and impact strength is greatly improved by laser welding technique.