Effect of quadrilateral discontinuity size on the energy absorption of structural steel profiles

In this paper the effect of discontinuity size on energy absorption performance of steel square profiles is reported. The analysis consists of finite element simulations and experimental results of the compression strength of steel profiles with discontinuities. The discontinuities were placed at the mid span of the profiles in two walls opposite to each other. Square, rectangular and diamond initiators were evaluated at different scales. The numerical results determined the size intervals that present a good energy absorption performance in each case. Energy absorption capabilities were increased up to 12.54% with respect to a structure without discontinuities. Additionally, the peak load value (P-max) was decreased 25.97% with the implementation of a diamond initiator. For structures with discontinuities with major axis close to the profile width, a buckling effect was observed. Finally, it was observed that the size of the initiators contributes to reduce the peak load (P-max) value.