Abstract  This paper focuses on developing improved concept models for straight thin-walled box sectional columns which can better predict the peak crushing force that occurs during crashworthiness analyses. We develop a nonlinear translational spring based on previous research and apply such a spring element to build the enhanced concept models. The work presented in this article is developed on the basis of the publication of the author (Liu and Day, 2006b) and has been applied in a crashworthiness design issue, which is presented by the author in another paper (Liu, 2008).