This paper deals with the crashworthiness capability of newly designed bitubal columns with different polygonal cross-sections (i.e. triangular, square, hexagonal, octagonal, decagonal and circular) reinforced with several inside ribs. A large number of finite element analyses were performed on these columns under axial and oblique impact loads using LS-DYNA to find the crashworthiness indicators. These columns were studied with five different size ratios (the ratios of the perimeter a of the inner tube to the perimeter b of the outer tube), namely a/b = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1. A decision-making method, which in this case is the technique for ordering preferences by similarity to the ideal solution, was then employed to select the better columns which possessed a higher energy absorption and a lower peak force. The bitubal columns with size ratios a/b of 0.5, 0.25 and 0.75 were generally found to be the best cases. Furthermore, the multi-cell columns with the decagonal and octagonal cross-sectional shapes were selected as the best energy absorbers.
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