COLLAPSE OF TUBULAR BEAMS LOADED BY A WEDGE-SHAPED INDENTER

This paper presents experimental studies and analyses on mild steel tu be specimens that are indented by a rigid but blunt wedge-shaped inden ter at the midspan. Three different support conditions are investigate d: simply supported ends, fully fixed ends and the whole tube lying on a fiat surface. A test program was carried out to determine the colla pse loads and energy-absorbing capabilities of tubes of different size s. Based on a dimensional argument and the experimental plots, empiric al closed-form expressions have been established for the collapse load s and energy, Generally, good agreement has been obtained between the empirical equations and the experimental data. The empirical equations can provide an important first-hand guide for design engineers and an alysts in this subject area.