Lateral impact response of innovative hollow corrugated members

There has recently been a growing trend of replacing conventional structural elements by innovative components so as to achieve more resilient infrastructures. Owing to the recent benchmark study conducted at Monash University, it has been demonstrated that the ultimate compressive capacity of hollow box members consisting of self-strengthened corrugated plates is significantly more than those made of flat plates. However, the behaviour of hollow corrugated members subjected to lateral impact loading has never been investigated. This paper fundamentally reports the behaviour of members built up from four corrugated plates, which are butt-welded at the apexes of the section, under lateral impact loading. Three different types of corrugation profiles as well as two levels of impact energy are considered to investigate the influence of geometric parameters and impact energy level on the member behaviour. The samples are transversely hit by an indenter with defined weight dropping from desired height. It will be demonstrated that the corrugation shape may influence the peak impact force, stabilised post-peak forces, and contact duration. A numerical model is also developed and verified against the experimental results using ABAQUS. Good agreement between experimental and numerical results including recorded data histories and damage patterns is achieved.