Composite tubes have high energy absorption properties, making them suitable as alternatives to traditional energy absorbers in vehicles, airplanes, ships, and other transportation equipment. Using these absorbers can reduce the damage caused by impact in the mentioned structures. In this study, the crush performance of holed steel and aluminium tubes with different geometries was investigated in three conditions: without a composite layer, with a holed composite layer, and with a non-holed composite layer. After defining various geometries, the energy absorption properties of the samples were simulated under quasi-static compressive loading using finite element analysis. Subsequently, a random selection of samples was tested experimentally to validate the numerical results. Initially, force-displacement diagrams, energy absorption, and specific energy absorption (SEA) values were extracted from the model, and then the results were compared and analyzed across different conditions and geometries. The findings showed that changes in the geometry of metal tubes and composite layers can have significant and varying effects on the energy absorption properties of the tubes, which can help researchers and structural designers (ships, cars, space structures, etc.) to design optimal absorbers and ultimately reduce losses.
