Abstract
A brake device for the high-speed impacting object is designed using an axial crushing of thin-walled metal cylinder. Thickness of the cylinder is increased smoothly from the impacting end to the fixed end, resulting in the truncated cone shape. Truncated cone shape minimizes the imperfection-sensitivity of the structure and ensures that plastic hinges are formed sequentially from impacting end. This prevents the undesirable sudden rise in the first peak-crushing load. Several specimens with different conic angles, mean thickness of the wall, and materials were designed and quasi-static compression tests were performed on them. Results indicate that adoption of appropriate conic angle prevents simultaneous wrinkles generation and sudden rise of crushing load and that appropriate conic angle differs in each case, depending on the geometry and material property of the cylinder. Finite element analysis was performed for static compression of the cylinder and its accuracy was checked for the future application.