Abstract
In this paper, the crushing behavior of a honeycomb structure subjected to axial compression is studied by the finite element method. Deformation mechanisms are clarified to understand the energy absorption in axial compression of a honeycomb structure with a three-fold point corner. It is found that, in the crushing process of a model with cell walls of equal thickness (t-t-t model), the folds generated along the full length of the plates crush simultaneously. In contrast, during the crushing process of the model with one wall twice as thick (the t-t-2t model), the folds are concentrated in the middle part of the plates, and the deformation mode becomes progressive. Based on the assumption that strain energies due to traveling hinges are equivalent, the conventional theoretical expression for the average load is applied to the present t-t-2t model, which ignores the occurrence of separation of the glued part. In addition, a theoretical prediction model for the average load of the simultaneous mode is proposed. The validity of the proposed model is then verified by comparing the results with the numerical results from the finite element method.
