Experimental investigation on the lateral compression in the foam-filled circular tubes

This paper investigates the effect of polyurethane foam-filler on the lateral plastic deformation in the circular tubes under radial quasi-static loading, experimentally. For this purpose, the specimens were prepared with five different diameters and thicknesses. For each constant diameter of specimens, several tubes with different lengths were prepared. All geometrical groups of specimens in the lateral compression tests (flattening) were used in empty and polyurethane foam-filled conditions. The effect of length, diameter and wall thickness of tubes on the lateral load, energy absorption and the specific absorbed energy were studied. The experimental results show that the polyurethane foam-filler increase the energy absorption capability of tubes and furthermore the increment of the energy absorption in thinner tubes is more than thicker specimens. Results show that using the polyurethane foam in the circular tubes under the lateral compression works as an excellent filler.