Hollow lattice truss reinforced honeycombs (honeytubes): Experiment and simulation

A novel designed cellular structures, termed as honeytubes, combining the microstructures of hollow lattices and honeycombs was developed forming hollow lattice truss reinforced honeycombs (LTRHs)^[1] which had shown great crush protection abilities. Different geometrical configurations were further designed to investigate their properties. Selected laser sintering 3D-printing technology were adapted to manufacture designed structures. Glass-filled polyamide powder was used as raw material to cooperate with 3D printing machine. The obtained square LTRHs were subjected to out-of-plane compression tests. Subsequently, a finite element model was developed and validated by comparing with experimental results. A parametric study was performed to investigate the influence of geometry parameters on structure performance. The calculated results fitted well with experimental results. Results showed that the specific properties and energy absorption of honeytubes varied evidently with normalized geometries comparing with honeycombs. The novel honeytubes in the present study will provide more selection for lightweight crush protection materials used in aerospace and automotive industries.