The mechanical properties of natural fibre based honeycomb core materials

This paper investigates the compression properties of square and triangular honeycomb core materials based on co-mingled flax fibre reinforced polypropylene (PP) and polylactide (PLA) polymers. Initial testing focused on investigating the sensitivity of the tensile properties of the composites to variations in processing conditions. Following this, a range of triangular and square honeycomb structures were manufactured using a simple slotting technique. These structures were tested in compression at quasi-static rates of strain and their strength and specific energy absorption characteristics were determined. Finally, a finite element analysis was undertaken to accurately predict the strength, energy-absorbing characteristics, buckling behaviour and failure modes of these natural fibre based core materials. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.