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Structural Behaviour of Expanded Metal Sheets

Conference Paper · September 2008

DOI: 10.4203/ccp.88.142

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Gabriela Martínez Carlos Graciano

Universidad Austral de Chile National University of Colombia
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University of Bío-Bío Universidad Internacional Valenciana
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Abstract
In engineering, there is a need for light materials able to withstand different load
conditions. Expanded metal sheets have been employed in the construction industry
mainly as furniture, safety fences and sidewalks among other uses. More recently,
expanded metal has been used as part of energy absorbers as can be observed in
several international patents. However, the structural behavior of the expanded
metal structures has not been explained to this date. In this paper, the structural
behavior of expanded metal tubes is investigated using computational modeling.
Expanded metal tubes are subjected to axial compression; thereafter the influence of
the orientation of the cells is also analyzed. The results show that structures made of
expanded metal are imperfection sensitive structures able to absorb energy by a
predictable plastic deformation pattern.

Keywords: Expanded Metal, Finite Element Methods, Energy Absorption.

1 Introduction
Expanded metal sheets have been employed in the construction industry mainly as
furniture, safety fences and sidewalks among other uses. These sheets are
manufactured by cutting and stretching flat metal plates forming a diamond-like
pattern, which is characterized by both out and in plane deformation (Figure 1).
This particular feature is an asset when designing structures requiring controlled
plastic deformation when collapsing. Such structures are potentially used in energy
absorbing applications.
In the vehicle industry there has been a great development in searching for new
materials, or using known materials in alternative ways, able to withstand loads in
impact or crash scenarios. Thin-walled metal tubes with different cross sections are
widely used as energy absorbing structural components in high volume of industrial
products such as cars, trains and ships [1]. Beside the good structural performance

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of thin-walled members as energy absorbers, they are relatively cheap and weight
efficient.
Energy absorbers are devices designed to absorb/dissipate the impact energy in a
controlled manner and hence protect the structure under consideration [3].
Consequently, an energy absorber should be capable of absorbing kinetic energy
upon impact and dissipate it in some other energy form, ideally in an irreversible
manner. Inelastic energy can exist in various forms such a plastic deformation,
viscous energy and friction or fracture energy [4].
Many efforts have been made in the past decades to understand and improve the
structural behavior of energy absorber under various load conditions: axial crushing,
bending and oblique impact. Alexander [5] shows an approximate theoretical model
to predict the mean crushing force and energy absorbing properties of circular tubes
under axial crush loading.
In [6,7], Wierzbicki and Abramowicz proposed a novel crushing theoretical
mechanism. Later on, Abramowicz and Jones [8,9] as well as Jones and
Abramowicz [10] extended and validated experimentally their theory. Hanssen et al.
[11] shows the performance in axial compression of square aluminum columns filled
with aluminum foam. Reyes et al. [12] investigated the behavior of square
aluminum columns subjected to oblique loading. Nagel and Thambiratnam
[3,13,14] conducted numerical studies on the impact response and energy absorption
of tapered thin walled tubes under axial and oblique loading. Zhang et al. [15]
studied the influence of the patterns to the surface of conventional thin walled square
tubes to improve the energy absorption capacity under axial and compressive loads.

n
Dimensions (mm)
a
e n 8
dv 42
dv dh 89
a 3
e 3.2
dh
(a) (b) (c)

Figure 1. Geometry of a diamond mesh (cells):

(a) frontal view, (b) lateral view, (c) nomenclature and dimensions

In the search for new developments for energy dissipation in crash scenarios,
expanded metal sheets have found a place [2]. Ayestaran et al. [2] performed a
preliminary investigation on the energy absorption capacity of a crush zone of a car
made of expanded metal sheets.
In this paper, the structural behavior of the expanded metal tubes is investigated
using computational modeling. Expanded metal tubes are subjected to axial
compression; thereafter the influence of the orientation of the cells is also analyzed.

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 The explicit FE code ANSYS-LS-DYNA is used to simulate the axial
compression of expanded metal tubes of cylindrical cross sections. This code has
been developed for large deformation structural dynamics. Special attention is paid
when analyzing transient dynamics response of 3D solids and structures, employing,
as an explicit code, the central difference method in order to solve the equations of
motion and possessing simultaneously many advantages that are critical for efficient
and accurate analysis of crashes [16].
Finally, numerical results are compared with experimental results obtained by
Smith [17]. A very good agreement is found between both results and useful
concluding remarks are presented.

2 Finite Element modeling

This section describes the numerical model used for the analysis. A cuasi-static
numerical analysis, using the finite element method, of cylindrical expanded metal
tubes was conducted. Geometries and boundary conditions are similarly to those
used by Smith [17], i.e. the tube is clamped at both ends. This similarity remained
in order to compare numerical and experimental results.
For the numerical analysis the following geometries were developed:

Cylindrical geometry, horizontal orientation of the pattern (G_00)

Cylindrical geometry, vertical orientation of the pattern (G_90)

Figures 2 and 3 show a schematic view of the two geometries, G_00 and G_90
respectively.

401mm

129 mm

Figure 2. Cylindrical geometry, horizontal orientation of the pattern (G_00):

(a) lateral view, (b) frontal view.

A finite element model of these two geometries was built using ANSYS LS-
DYNA. An explicit analysis code was used to model both material and geometric

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nonlinearity, and it is well suited for simulating problems where complex contact
interactions occur within the structure, such as for axially crushed of expanded metal
tubes.

Y
Z X

408 mm Z
Y X

116 mm

Figure 3. Cylindrical geometry, vertical orientation of the pattern (G_90):

(a) lateral view, (b) frontal view.
Figure 4 shows the mesh and boundary conditions used for model G_90. The
base of each tube was fully fixed (clamped) at the top end, while the other end was
moved only in the axial direction with a prescribed velocity of 10 mm/s.

Fully fixed
constraints
Y
X Z

Axial direction with

prescribed velocity,
only axial direction is
free

Figure 4. Boundary conditions for model G_90.

Each geometry was modeled using solid elements of designation Solid 164, from
the ANSYS element library. This is an eight nodes element suitable for large strain
analyses. In order to avoid hourglassing effect, fully integrated element formulations

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were used. However, these options are more costly (in CPU time) than other
element formulations [18]. The boundary conditions are similar in both models.
Contact within each geometry is modeled by using Automatic General Contact [18].
This contact type is used when a surface of one body contacts itself or the surface of
another body.
Table 1 shows the material properties taken from [19] used in the numerical
analysis herein. In the FE model, the material was modeled via a classical bilinear
isotropic hardening model (strain rate independent) that uses two slopes (elastic and
plastic) to represent the stress-strain behavior of the material.
Elastic Modulus (E) 235 MPa
Poisson ratio ( ) 0.3
Density ( ) 7835 kg/m3
Yield Strenght ( y) 470 MPa
Tangent Slope Modulus (Et) 660 MPa
Table 1. Material properties of Finite Element Model

3 Results and Discussion

3.1 Cylindrical geometry, Model G_90
MN MN

Y Y Y
Z X MN
Z X Z X

MX

MX

MX
(a) (b) (c)
MN MN

Y Y
Z X Z X

MX

MX

(d) (e)
Figure 5. Deformation process for model G_90:
(a) initial shape, (b) 50 mm, (c) 100 mm, (d) 150 mm, (e) 210 mm

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 Figure 5 shows the deformation process at: 0 mm, 50 mm, 100 mm, 150 mm and
210 mm, obtained during the numerical analysis. It is observed that the failure is
caused by buckling of the expanded metal cells at mid-length (Figures 5b and 5c).
Afterwards, a plastic collapse mechanism occurs in the walls caused by the closure
of the cells. Comparing Figure 5e and 6b, a very good agreement between the final
shapes of the tubes is observed.
Figure 7 shows the load-displacement response from numerical and experimental
test for model G_90 (Figure 7). It consists of an initial peak at mean load;
subsequently the load decreases rapidly until reaching a steady value. The end of
the curve is oscillating as a consequence of contact issues. This behavior is typical
for imperfection sensitive structures. It is important to quote that the peak load was
very high (Fpeak= 4000 N), it is no desirable when the impact load is an important
parameter, even it is occurs in a quick interval.

Figure 6. Initial and final geometry from experimental test for model G_90 [17].

The mean force ( Fmean ), based on the area under the curve between a crush
distance from x1 to x2 , is calculated by:
x2
Ea F ( x)dx (1)
x1

E
Fmean (2)
x2 x1

where Ea is the energy absorbed between x1 and x2 . These two parameters are
calculated for each configuration. For model G_90 mean load is: Fmean = 2272 N,

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and the energy absorbed calculated according to equation (2): Ea = 477 J. The mean
force from experimental test was 13% bigger.

Figure 7: Load-displacement curves for model G_90

experimental and numerical test.

3.2 Cylindrical geometry, Model G_00

Figure 8 shows the deformation process at 60mm, 120mm, 180mm obtained in the
numerical analysis. In this case, the failure is caused by progressive plastic collapse
of the expanded metal cells until fully closure of the cells (Figures 8d). This
mechanism is characterized by the formation of plastic hinges at each cell junction.
As in model G-90, when comparing Figure 8e and 9b a very good agreement
between the final shapes of the tubes is observed.
Figure 10 shows the load-displacement response from numerical and
experimental test for model G_00. The response shows a gradual increase of the
load until a plateau is reached. At the end an increase in load capacity is observed,
it is attributed to contact issues. This behavior is an important feature for energy
absorbing systems, where energy should be dissipated in a controlled way. It is
worth noticing that the peak load is about the mean load (Fpeak Fmean = 1033 N).
The energy absorption was 217 J. The mean force from numerical test was 2 %
bigger than the experimental one.
When comparing the energy absorbed and the mean load obtained by the two
models, G_90 and G_00, there is a reduction of 45%. Nevertheless, the structural
behavior is more stable in the latter.

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 Z Z Z Z
Y XMN
MX Y X Y X Y X

MN MN
MX

MX

MX

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Figure 8: Deformation process for model G_00

(a) initial shape, (b) 60 mm, (c) 120 mm, (d) 180 mm.

Figure 9: Initial and final geometry from experimental test for model G-00 [17].

4 Conclusions
This paper investigated the nonlinear behavior of expanded metal tubes subjected
to axial compression. Numerical and experimental result in terms of load
displacement response, mean load and energy absorbed exhibit a very good
correlation. The numerical results obtained herein shows that the response of the
tubes depends upon the orientation of the expanded metal cell.
From the results, it can be concluded that when the long axis of the cell is
perpendicular to the applied load the response is more stable and controlled. This
orientation is more suitable for application requiring energy dissipation.

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 Figure 10: Load-displacement curves for model G_00,
experimental and numerical test.

References
[1] X. Zhang and G. Cheng, “Energy absorption of axially compressed thin-
walled square tubes with patterns”, Thin-Walled Structures, 45(9): 737-746,
2007.
[2] A. Ayestarán, C. Graciano S. Díaz, “Finite Element Analysis of an Energy
Absorbing Crush Zone using Expanded Metal”. Proceedings of the III
European Conference on Computational Mechanics. Lisbon, Portugal. pp. 1-
11, June 2006.
[3] G.M. Nagel and D.P. Thambiratnam, “Computer simulation and energy
absorption of tapered thin-walled rectangular tubes”, Thin-Walled Structures,
45(8): 1225-1242, 2005.
[4] A.G. Olabi, E. Morris and M.S.J. Hashmi, “Metallic tube type energy
absorbers: A synopsis”, Thin-Walled Structures, 45(7-8): 706-726, 2007.
[5] J.M. Alexander, “An approximate analysis of the collapse thin cylindrical
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[7] W. Abramowicz, T. Wierzbicki, “Axial crushing of multicorner sheet metal
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[8] W. Abramowicz and N. Jones, “Dynamic axial crushing of square tubes”,
International Journal of Impact Engineering, 2, 179-208, 1984.

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 [9] W. Abramowicz and N. Jones, “Dynamic progressive buckling of circular and
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Universidad Simón Bolívar, Caracas, Venezuela, 2008. [In Spanish].
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Venezuela, 2005. [In Spanish].

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