Numerical modeling of flatwise energy absorption behavior of 3D woven honeycomb composites with different cell structures

Numerical simulation along with experimental validation are used to investigate the flatwise compression behavior in the out-of-plane direction of several 3D woven honeycomb composites with varied cell geometry such as hexagonal (HX), triangular, and rectangular structures. For all the structures, the perimeter of the unit cell was kept constant. Edgewise compression and three-point bending behavior were compared experimentally for all three configurations. The flatwise compression behavior of honeycomb structures has been predicted using FEM on the LS-DYNA platform, and the results have been validated using experimental data. The predicted values are found to be in good agreement with the experimental results. Hexagonal honeycomb shows better results as compared to other cell structures as revealed by both experimental and numerical analysis.