Collapse of honeycomb cell as a result of buckling or plastic hinges, analytical, numerical and experimental study

Abstract

The honeycomb structure collapse during energy absorption and deformation is considered as one of the important subjects for researchers. In this paper, a combined analytical, numerical and experimental analysis on the collapse load of hexagonal aluminum honeycombs due to buckling or plastic collapse of the unit cells under flatwise compressive loading is performed. To analyze the collapse load, some analytical equations are derived for buckling and forming plastic hinges using the frame element. The amounts of these loads are measured for a single-row aluminum honeycomb structure, and the smallest one is selected as collapse load. The results show that the main cause of structure collapse is the formation of plastic hinges. To evaluate the analytical results and to propose a valid numerical simulation method, the quasi-static pressure test is performed. Furthermore, the structure collapse is also simulated by Abaqus software. The maximum difference between the numerical and experimental collapse load is 2.5%. Moreover, the deformed shape of the structure is very similar to the experimental one. The numerical simulation method and the proposed analytical relations can be used to analyze the collapse in other metal honeycomb structures.

Numerical and experimental study of energy absorption of PLA calibrated honeycomb structures under quasi-static loading

“…Applying an axial planar force to the honeycomb cell results in collapse at the top and bottom contact sides. Friction load and horizontal side buckling should be calculated (2,25). The value of the normal load is assumed to be equal to the plastic collapse load as well as constant-static boundary conditions.…”

“…Also, the deformation of a honeycomb structure causes the absorption of applied kinetic energy. This deformation may be a result of forming plastic hinges or buckling (25).…”

In-plane and out-of-plane compressive mechanical properties of Nomex honeycombs and their prediction

“…It can be found from Table 6 that the theoretical and experimental values are in good agreement when the content of phenolic resin is low. When the content of phenolic (10)…”

“…They exhibit prospects for broad application in various crashworthy buffer structures [6][7][8]. The dynamic and static mechanical characteristics of honeycomb [9][10][11][12] and honeycomb-filled [13,14] structures were investigated by using theoretical calculations, simulations, and various experimental techniques. Many empirical expressions for the mean out-of-plane, and in-plane, plateau stresses acting upon such double-walled or single-walled hexagonal honeycomb cores were suggested [15][16][17][18].…”

Multi-fidelity crashworthiness optimization of a bus bumper system under frontal impact

“…They showed the energy absorption advantages of tapered tubes under axial impact. In many studies honeycomb [18][19][20][21][22] and foam [18,[23][24][25][26] filling of these thin-walled tubes are investigated. These studies show that honeycomb structures and aluminum foams are significantly improved the crash performance of crashboxes.…”