Crashworthiness Enhancement: The Optimization of Vehicle Crash Box Performance by Utilizing Bionic-Albuca Spiralis Thin-Walled Structure

: This paper presents a comprehensive investigation utilizing simulations to analyze the peak force and energy absorption characteristics of cylindrical configurations, as well as a novel spiral crash box design inspired by the albuca spiralis form. The study aims to evaluate the behavior of these designs in low-speed collisions by utilizing aluminum and steel as two different materials. Four primary forms of thin-walled structures, including concentric circles, tangent circles, half-balanced circles, and spiral circles, were thoroughly examined using finite element analysis. Mesh-independent tests were conducted to ensure the accuracy of the simulation results, and various crumple displacements were compared to determine the optimal mesh sizing. The numerical results demonstrate a significant reduction in peak force for the aluminum crash box, with a remarkable 60% decrease compared to the steel crash box. Furthermore, the spiral shape, identified as an optimized design, exhibits a low peak force of only 118.42 kN and offers superior energy absorption of 9.15 kJ per kilogram compared to the other designs. Consequently, employing nature-inspired designs provides substantial benefits for enhancing crashworthiness in energy-absorbing devices.