Mechanical Performances of Honeycomb Structures Reinforced by a Magnetorheological Elastomer Material: Experimental and Numerical Approaches

In this article, the performance of mechanical resistance against failure of mechanical structures under bending load was studied by the use of a hybrid sandwich composite (Magnetorheological Elastomer (MRE) – honeycomb). Accordingly, a series of four-point bending mechanical tests were carried out. In addition, a comparison of the force-deflection responses, the values of the maximum forces supported by each sample before damage were determined. Through the additional effect of the MRE core, the hybrid sandwich composite samples presented the best performances in terms of energy absorption-dissipation, and thanks to the effect of the honeycomb part, the Hybrid sandwich composite samples presented the best performance in terms of mechanical strength. To validate the performance of these developed hybrid structures, the numerical results are compared with the corresponding experimental results.