{"title":"Compressive behavior of 3D printed biomechanically inspired helicoidal honeycomb structures","authors":"Peng Guan , Ning Hao , Peng Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.ijmecsci.2025.110883","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The impact resistance and energy absorption of lightweight structures remain a critical challenge for protective and aerospace applications. Conventional honeycomb designs are often limited by poor deformation stability and localized stress concentrations, which restrict their energy absorption efficiency. To overcome these limitations, this study proposes a novel biomechanically inspired helicoidal honeycomb sandwich structure (HS) that integrates Bouligand architecture with rounded-corner design, fabricated via 3D printing. The mechanical response of HS was systematically investigated by experiments and finite element simulations under varying helicoidal angles (0°–360°) and corner radii (0, 5, and 10 mm). Results reveal that larger helicoidal angles sacrifice strength and stiffness but promote deformation stability and smoother stress–strain plateaus, while rounded corners (<em>R</em> = 10 mm) effectively improve stress distribution and load-bearing capacity. The optimized configuration (<em>θ</em> = 360°, <em>R</em> = 10 mm) achieves a 184 % improvement in specific energy absorption compared to conventional counterparts. Mechanism analysis demonstrates a unique three-phase deformation process—flexible yielding, stable deformation, and multi-point energy absorption—attributed to the synergistic effect of helicoidal geometry and corner optimization. This work offers new design insights for lightweight, impact-resistant sandwich structures with potential applications in aerospace, protective engineering, and related fields.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56287,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Mechanical Sciences","volume":"307 ","pages":"Article 110883"},"PeriodicalIF":9.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Mechanical Sciences","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020740325009658","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, MECHANICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The impact resistance and energy absorption of lightweight structures remain a critical challenge for protective and aerospace applications. Conventional honeycomb designs are often limited by poor deformation stability and localized stress concentrations, which restrict their energy absorption efficiency. To overcome these limitations, this study proposes a novel biomechanically inspired helicoidal honeycomb sandwich structure (HS) that integrates Bouligand architecture with rounded-corner design, fabricated via 3D printing. The mechanical response of HS was systematically investigated by experiments and finite element simulations under varying helicoidal angles (0°–360°) and corner radii (0, 5, and 10 mm). Results reveal that larger helicoidal angles sacrifice strength and stiffness but promote deformation stability and smoother stress–strain plateaus, while rounded corners (R = 10 mm) effectively improve stress distribution and load-bearing capacity. The optimized configuration (θ = 360°, R = 10 mm) achieves a 184 % improvement in specific energy absorption compared to conventional counterparts. Mechanism analysis demonstrates a unique three-phase deformation process—flexible yielding, stable deformation, and multi-point energy absorption—attributed to the synergistic effect of helicoidal geometry and corner optimization. This work offers new design insights for lightweight, impact-resistant sandwich structures with potential applications in aerospace, protective engineering, and related fields.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of Mechanical Sciences (IJMS) serves as a global platform for the publication and dissemination of original research that contributes to a deeper scientific understanding of the fundamental disciplines within mechanical, civil, and material engineering.
The primary focus of IJMS is to showcase innovative and ground-breaking work that utilizes analytical and computational modeling techniques, such as Finite Element Method (FEM), Boundary Element Method (BEM), and mesh-free methods, among others. These modeling methods are applied to diverse fields including rigid-body mechanics (e.g., dynamics, vibration, stability), structural mechanics, metal forming, advanced materials (e.g., metals, composites, cellular, smart) behavior and applications, impact mechanics, strain localization, and other nonlinear effects (e.g., large deflections, plasticity, fracture).
Additionally, IJMS covers the realms of fluid mechanics (both external and internal flows), tribology, thermodynamics, and materials processing. These subjects collectively form the core of the journal's content.
In summary, IJMS provides a prestigious platform for researchers to present their original contributions, shedding light on analytical and computational modeling methods in various areas of mechanical engineering, as well as exploring the behavior and application of advanced materials, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and materials processing.