Mechanical properties of horsetail bio-inspired honeycombs under quasi-static axial load

The bionic strategy is regarded as a highly effective design approach for honeycomb structures. To improve the crushing resistance of the honeycombs, some novel bio-honeycombs are proposed by introducing the micro-structure of horsetail stems into regular hexagonal honeycomb (RH) cells in this study. Two types of developed bio-honeycombs are considered, including MP type and CC type. A circular honeycomb compression test is carried out to validate the finite element (FE) model. Subsequently, FE models of bio-honeycombs are established to investigate their out-of-plane crashworthiness. The results suggest that the introduced bionic units and the RH frame component will produce a significant interaction effect, where more severe plastic deformation will be formed at their intersections and more folding lobes are formed on the cell walls. Furthermore, the effect of geometric parameters on crashworthiness of MP_6 (MP type with six ribs) bio-honeycombs is discussed. It demonstrates that the smaller cell size of bio-honeycomb is beneficial for improving the utilization efficiency of materials. The deformation modes of MP_6 bio-honeycombs are determined by the ratio of cell wall thickness to cell length (t/l), and the global bending occurs when t/l exceeds 0.0625. In addition, a theoretical model for estimating the mean crushing force of MP_6 bio-honeycombs is derived, and the error with the FE results is within 7%, confirming that the theoretical solution is in good agreement with the simulation.

Automated summary

The study proposes novel bio-honeycombs by introducing the micro-structure of horsetail stems into regular hexagonal honeycomb (RH) cells, which improves the crushing resistance. Experimental and finite element (FE) analysis show a significant interaction effect between the introduced bionic units and the RH frame component, resulting in more severe plastic deformation at their intersections and more folding lobes formed on the cell walls. The study also demonstrates that smaller cell size in the bio-honeycombs improves material utilization efficiency.