Energy absorption of multicellular diamond origami tubes based on additive manufacturing: Experimental, numerical, and theoretical studies

Diamond origami configuration has gained extensive application in protective fields for its unique mechanical properties. However, there remains relatively limited research on additive-manufactured origami structures for practical energy absorption engineering applications. This study proposes a novel composite design strategy integrating origami tubes with ribbed tubes, considering 6 factors, 9 cross-sectional configurations, and 48 structural variants, to investigate the crashworthiness of origami structures in real-world collision scenarios. A combination of quasi-static compression experiments, axial and oblique dynamic impact experiments, nonlinear finite element analysis, and theoretical predictions is employed to investigate the energy absorption performance of various composite multi-cell origami tubes. Comparisons with Trapezoidal and Kresling origami tubes indicate that Diamond Origami Tubes (DOT) can modulate deformation modes through prefabricated creases, thereby exhibiting lower initial stiffness, superior load stability, and enhanced energy absorption. Furthermore, the mechanical advantages of the Multicellular Diamond Origami Tube (MDOT), designed by combining DOT with inner rib reinforcements, are even more pronounced. The Specific Energy Absorption (SEA) of MDOT-D (Diamond) ribbed composite tube improves by 107.4 % compared to DOT, accompanying with higher load stability. Parameter analysis reveals that the more origami modules M, the more fixed plastic hinges, thereby the higher SEA. Furthermore, adjusting the dihedral angle θ and β significantly enhance the SEA by expanding the area swept by the moving plastic hinges. The wall thickness influences the SEA by affecting the cross-sectional bending moment. The design of MDOT notably improves crashworthiness, demonstrating the feasibility of applying energy-absorbing structures fabricated via AM processes to engineering applications.