Local deformation models in analyzing beam-on-beam collisions

With the intention to reveal the local behavior of beam-on-beam collisions, several local deformation models in the collision between a free–free beam and a simply supported beam are proposed and examined. The conventional rigid, perfectly plastic material idealization is adopted in analyzing the global flexural deformation of the beams, while the coupling of the global flexural deformation with the local indentation is formulated. Numerical results demonstrate that various local models lead to similar estimate on the global energy partitioning, whatever they adopt the stick or non-stick assumption. It is also noted that the weaker local model results in higher local energy dissipation. In addition, the separation and multi-impact between the two beams are observed by using some local models with non-stick assumption.