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The axial cutting deformation mode is a novel alternative to progressive folding, the current state-of-the-art, where the cutting scheme exhibits more favorable mechanical performance. By splitting the extrusion into multiple evenly spaced and near-identical petals a highly consistent force response can be achieved. Maximizing the energy absorbing capacity of a sacrificial energy absorber is a fundamental design challenge in the field of crashworthiness. Generating hybrid deformation modes by simultaneously combining multiple deformation mechanisms into a single safety system is a promising technique to achieve high capacity energy dissipation. However, these systems tend to be susceptible to transitioning deformation modes (e.g. from progressive folding to global bending) since the sacrificial material is often loaded at or near its capacity.

A plethora of applications in the transportation industry for both vehicular and roadside safety hardware, especially seatbelts, harnesses and restraints, rely on tensile loading to dissipate energy and minimize injury. There are disadvantages to the current state-of-the-art for these tensile energy absorbers, including erratic force-displacement responses and low tensile force efficiencies (TFE). Axial cutting was extensively demonstrated by researchers at the University of Windsor to maintain a stable reaction force, although exclusively under compressive loading. A novel apparatus was investigated in this study which utilized axial cutting under a tensile loading condition to absorb energy. A parametric scope was chosen to include circular AA6061 extrusions in both T4 and T6 temper conditions with an outer diameter of 63.5 mm and wall thickness of 3.18 mm.