Honeycomb structures are widely used in automotive and aerospace applications because of their outstanding characteristics of high strength and light weight. In this paper, a new honeycomb structure named as bionic honeycomb thin-walled structure (BHTS) which filled the column in different way inspired by the internal structure of the ladybeetle is proposed. The energy absorption characteristics of two kinds of BHTSs have been investigated comparing an original honeycomb structure with the same type of material under axial impact loading using nonlinear finite element software LS-DYNA. Dynamic loading has been carried out under the weight of 500 kg and the speed of 10 m/s. The results show that the energy absorption characteristic of BHTS which filled columns on its walls is better than that filled columns in its walls. Then the parameter studies in energy absorption of BHTS-2 have been carried out. It is found that energy absorption performance of BHTS-2 is best when the filled column number is 6 and diameter is 8 mm.

Energy absorption characteristics of bio-inspired honeycomb structure under axial impact loading

Multi-cell tubes have been widely used in vehicle engineering for their excellent energy absorption capacity. In this paper, a group of bionic multi-cell tubes (BMCTs) with quadrilateral, hexagonal and octagonal sections were proposed. The BMCTs were constructed by filling the cylindrical tubes into different position of multi-cell tubes (MCTs), which was inspired by the microstructure of beetle forewings. The finite element (FE) models under axial impact loading were established and then validated by the Simplified Super Folding Element (SSFE) theory. The crashworthiness of different BMCTs and MCTs was compared, and the results showed that the sixth type of bionic multi-cell tube with octagonal section (O-BMCT-6) has the best crashing performance. Then, the multiobjective optimization design of O-BMCT-6 was conducted by using non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) and radial basis function (RBF) metamodels. The optimal O-BMCT-6 showed superior crashworthiness and could be used as an energy absorber.

Crashworthiness design for bio-inspired multi-cell tubes with quadrilateral, hexagonal and octagonal sections

Beetles have developed the elytra that are interesting and impressive strategy for thriving in their native environments. The elytra, although formed from simple biopolymer constituents, take on many effective designs. In present work, internal structure of elytra is discussed and three bionic structures named as the bio-inspired honeycomb column thin-walled structure (BHTS) are proposed. Then the crushing behavior and energy absorption characteristics of the BHTS under axial impact loading are investigated by numerical simulation. This study reveals not only the relationship between the adding mode and energy absorption characteristics, but also the influence of column diameter on the BHTS. The findings show that the BHTS represents a significant improvement over honeycomb structures and show potential applications in the field of protective equipment.

Energy absorption characteristics of bio-inspired honeycomb column thin-walled structure under impact loading.

Review of beetle forewing structures and their biomimetic applications in China: (II) On the three-dimensional structure, modeling and imitation

To investigate the characteristics of compression, buffering and energy dissipation in beetle elytron plates (BEPs), compression experiments were performed on BEPs and honeycomb plates (HPs) with the same wall thickness in different core structures and using different molding methods. The results are as follows: 1) The compressive strength and energy dissipation capacity in the BEP are 2.44 and 5.0 times those in the HP, respectively, when the plates are prepared using the full integrated method (FIM). 2) The buckling stress is directly proportional to the square of the wall thickness (t). Thus, for core structures with equal wall thicknesses, although the core volume of the BEP is 42 percent greater than that of the HP, the mechanical properties of the BEP are several times higher than those of the HP. 3) It is also proven that even when the single integrated method (SIM) is used to prepare BEPs, the properties discussed above remain superior to those of HPs by a factor of several; this finding lays the foundation for accelerating the commercialization of BEPs based on modern manufacturing processes.

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Shijie Guo

Papers

Compressive and flexural properties of biomimetic integrated honeycomb plates