The Use of Decelerative Metal Cutting in the Design of Energy-Management Systems

This paper focuses on the design principles basic to the development of devices that can be used to absorb and manage energy during collisions. Design guidelines and a chart are developed for minimum-stroke energy-absorbing devices. It is shown that decelerative metal-cutting displays force–velocity characteristics that are highly efficient for the management of collision energy in the majority of practical design applications of interest. Examples of metal-cutting energy-management devices are developed.