Theoretical and numerical investigation of bicellular honeycomb under axial compression

Honeycomb has been widely used as an excellent energy absorbing material. Honeycombs with different cell structures have been studied. In this research, a type of honeycomb with cells resemble to bitubular structures is proposed and named as bicellular honeycomb. Based on the basic folding mechanism, the theoretical prediction formula of axial compression strength of the bicellular honeycomb was deduced. A method of obtaining different strengths by removing part of inner cells was proposed and the corresponding calculation formula was derived too. The finite element model of the honeycomb was also established. The comparison between theoretical results and simulation results shows the credibility of the theoretical prediction. The effect of cell angle θ ₁ and θ ₂, the ratio of wall thickness to length t ₁/l ₁ and t ₂/l ₂, the ratio of outer cell length to inner cell length l ₁/l ₂, the ratio of outer cell thickness to inner cell thickness t ₁/t ₂ is investigated according to the theoretical prediction.