Energy absorption characteristics of bio-inspired honeycomb structure under axial impact loading

Honeycomb structures are widely used in automotive and aerospace applications because of their outstanding characteristics of high strength and light weight. In this paper, a new honeycomb structure named as bionic honeycomb thin-walled structure (BHTS) which filled the column in different way inspired by the internal structure of the ladybeetle is proposed. The energy absorption characteristics of two kinds of BHTSs have been investigated comparing an original honeycomb structure with the same type of material under axial impact loading using nonlinear finite element software LS-DYNA. Dynamic loading has been carried out under the weight of 500 kg and the speed of 10 m/s. The results show that the energy absorption characteristic of BHTS which filled columns on its walls is better than that filled columns in its walls. Then the parameter studies in energy absorption of BHTS-2 have been carried out. It is found that energy absorption performance of BHTS-2 is best when the filled column number is 6 and diameter is 8 mm.