Effects of defects on the in-plane dynamic crushing of metal honeycombs

The effects of defects and their distributions on the in-plane dynamic crushing of honeycomb panels were studied using explicit finite element modeling. The influence of defect locations and ratios is investigated on the deformation modes and the plateau stresses with respect to the impact velocity. Numerical results show that the dynamic performance of honeycomb displays a high sensitivity on the defect location, especially under low and moderate impact velocities. By introducing a defect correction factor beta(m) and using the one-dimensional shock wave theory, an empirical formula is given for the variation of honeycomb's plateau stress with respect to the impact velocity and the defect ratio. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.