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Abstract

Abstract

Hierarchical structures are found in many natural and man-made materials [1]. This structural hierarchy play an important role in determining the overall mechanical behavior of the structure. It has been suggested that increasing the hierarchical level of a structure will result in a better performing structure [2]. Besides, honeycombs are well known structures for lightweight and high strength applications [3]. In this work, we have studied the mechanical properties of honeycombs with hierarchical organization using theoretical, numerical, and experimental methods. The hierarchical organization is made by replacing the edges of a regular honeycomb structure with smaller regular honeycomb. Our results showed that honeycombs with structural hierarchy have superior properties compared to regular honeycombs. The results show that a relatively broad range of elastic properties, and thus behavior, can be achieved by tailoring the structural organization of hierarchical honeycombs, and more specifically the two dimension ratios. Increasing the level of hierarchy provides a wider range of achievable properties. Further optimization should be possible by also varying the thickness of the hierarchically introduced cell walls, and thus the relative distribution of the mass, between different hierarchy levels. These hierarchical honeycombs can be used in development of novel lightweight multifunctional structures, for example as the cores of sandwich panels, or development of lightweight deployable energy systems.

/content/papers/10.5339/qfarf.2011.EGO2
2011-11-20
2021-08-03