Tailorable Energy Absorption During Quasi-Static Crush via Additively Manufactured Honeycomb

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Mechanical Engineering
• Additive Manufacturing

Background:

• Honeycomb structures offer high strength-to-weight ratios, making them suitable for energy absorption in aerospace and automotive sectors.
• Additive manufacturing enables precise control over honeycomb geometry for tailored performance.
• Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is a common polymer for 3D printing, but its performance in brittle energy absorption applications requires investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of inscribed diameter on the energy absorption properties of additively manufactured honeycombs.
• To evaluate the impact of buckling initiators on the crush and energy absorption efficiency of ABS honeycombs.
• To determine how geometric modifications influence the performance of brittle honeycomb structures.

Main Methods:

• Additively manufactured ABS honeycombs with varying inscribed diameters (10 mm and 20 mm) were produced.
• Quasi-static compression tests were performed using a servo-hydraulic material test system.
• Samples with and without buckling initiators (small triangle cutouts) were compared.

Main Results:

• Crush efficiency and energy absorbed efficiency increase as the inscribed diameter decreases.
• A 10 mm inscribed diameter yielded a crush efficiency of 62%, compared to 20.29% for a 20 mm diameter.
• Energy absorbed efficiency was 45% for the 10 mm sample, versus 16.70% for the 20 mm sample.
• Buckling initiators consistently increased both crush and energy absorbed efficiency.

Conclusions:

• Decreasing the inscribed diameter is an effective strategy to enhance energy absorption in ABS honeycombs.
• The inclusion of buckling initiators significantly improves the energy absorption capabilities of these structures.
• Geometric optimization through additive manufacturing holds promise for advanced energy absorption solutions.