Honeycomb structures have long been highly valued for their lightweight and high-strength characteristics, making them an ideal choice for various engineering applications. The traditional hexagonal honeycomb design has been widely applied, and various structural forms that meet specific mechanical requirements have been developed. However, with the increasing diversity of application scenarios, there is a growing need for honeycomb structures that can provide specific mechanical responses under different loading conditions.
For this reason, the team led by Xu Mingyang from Shenyang Ligong University began to focus on new design methods, combining gradient strategies, biological structures and additive manufacturing, to provide new ideas for designing honeycomb structures with excellent mechanical properties or energy absorption capabilities.
The research team designed two bionic gradient circular honeycomb structures by imitating the microstructure of bamboo wall cross-sections and the skeleton structure of bat wings: Wall-inspired nested self-similar gradient honeycomb (WNSGH) and frame-inspired nested non-self-similar gradient honeycomb (SNNGH) were studied, and the in-plane compression mechanical behaviors of these two gradient honeycomb structures and the conventional circular honeycomb structure (RCH) at three loading speeds were investigated.
From left to right are 3D printed samples: RCH, WNSGH and SNNGH
Geometric dimension diagrams of three types of honeycomb structures: (a)RCH, (b) WNSGH and (c) SNNGH. All three honeycomb structures contain six layers in the plane. The gradient honeycomb structure is composed of units with different geometric configurations stacked layer by layer from top to bottom. Every two layers form a gradient level, and eventually a three-layer gradient structure honeycomb architecture is formed.
The relevant research results are "Mechanical characteristics of additive manufactured biomimetic gradient circular honeycombs with nested strategy. "under static and dynamic loading" was published in the top International Journal in the field of mechanics, International Journal of Impact Engineering, with an impact factor of 5.1 in 2023.
Researchers also introduced the microstructure of rib plate enhancement in the beetle wing sheath into the traditional hexagonal honeycomb. Combining the characteristics of the multi-layer gradient structure, they designed two types of rib plate enhancement gradient honeycomb structures: wall rib enhancement gradient honeycomb (WRRGH) and vertex rib enhancement gradient honeycomb (VRRGH). The gradient honeycomb structure specimens of AlSi10Mg alloy were fabricated by SLM technology, and the in-plane mechanical properties and energy absorption capacity of these two gradient honeycomb structures and the homogeneous hexagonal honeycomb structure at three strain rates (10⁻³ s⁻¹, 220 s⁻¹, 1500 s⁻¹) were investigated.
Gradient honeycomb specimens fabricated by 3D printing process and selective laser melting (SLM) : (a) Printing direction; (b) Manufacturing process; (c) Formed specimens
At the three strain rates, the specific energy absorption (SEA) of these two gradient cells was greater than that of the homogeneous cell. This study provides a new perspective for designing multi-layer gradient honeycomb structures with excellent mechanical properties and impact resistance. Research results: "Mechanical properties of additively manufactured manufactured AlSi10Mg alloy gradient honeycomb with rib reinforcement at. "different strain rates" was published in Thin-Walled Structures with an impact factor of 5.7 in 2023.
TSC's subsidiary, LiM Laser, provided LiM-X260A equipment support for this purpose, helping the research team successfully prepare experimental samples of the gradient honeycomb structure of AlSi10Mg alloy that met the requirements, laying a crucial foundation for the smooth progress of subsequent research.
The LiM-X series SLM equipment of the subsidiary LiM Laser, with its high stability and high print quality, Assist users such as the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hebei University of Technology, Xi 'an University of Technology, Hebei University of Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Sichuan Engineering Vocational and Technical College, and Guangdong Polytechnic of Light Industry in achieving research projects, education and teaching, and talent cultivation.
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