In order to optimize the crashworthy characteristic of energy-absorbing structures, the surrogate models of specific energy absorption （SEA） and ratio of SEA to initial peak force （REAF） with respect to the design parameters were respectively constructed based on surrogate model optimization methods （polynomial response surface method （PRSM） and Kriging method （KM））. Firstly, the sample data were prepared through the design of experiment （DOE）. Then, the test data models were set up based on the theory of surrogate model, and the data samples were trained to obtain the response relationship between the SEA ＆amp; REAF and design parameters. At last, the structure optimal parameters were obtained by visual analysis and genetic algorithm （GA）. The results indicate that the KM, where the local interpolation method is used in Gauss correlation function, has the highest fitting accuracy and the structure optimal parameters are obtained as： the SEA of 29.8558 kJ/kg （corresponding toa=70 mm andt= 3.5 mm） and REAF of 0.2896 （corresponding toa=70 mm andt=1.9615 mm）. The basis function of the quartic PRSM with higher order than that of the quadratic PRSM, and the mutual influence of the design variables are considered, so the fitting accuracy of the quartic PRSM is higher than that of the quadratic PRSM.
In order to reduce casualties and property losses in a collision accident, thin-walled structure has been extensively used as energy absorber in crashworthiness design of train. With the help of energy absorber, collision kinetic energy can be controllably dissipated by the plastic deformation of structures. A new kind of multi-cell thin-walled structure called as bitubular polygonal tubes with internal walls(BPTIW) was constructed. The crashworthiness characteristics of BPTIWs were investigated by LS-DYNA. It can be found that the BPTIW with 12 sides has the most excellent crashworthiness characteristics. Therefore, based on response surface method(RSM) and multiobjective particle optimization(MOPSO) algorithm, the BPTIW with 12 sides was selected to optimize the dimensions of cross-sectional configuration under different constraints of energy absorption(EA) and crushing peak force(CPF). The results show that the optimal designs of BPTIW12 under different constraints present excellent crashworthiness characteristics and can be used in the practical engineering.
