FEA of in-plane compression of aluminum alloy honeycomb panels

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the aluminum alloy honeycomb panel and conducted a quantitative analysis. First, three kinds of honeycomb panels with different configurations were fabricated using resin materials using 3D printing technology. These honeycomb panels included the traditional honeycomb panel (Type 1), the wall middle column honeycomb panel (Type 2), and the wall end column honeycomb panel (Type 3). The results of the experiment showed that the maximum bearing capacity of the Type 3 panel increased from 28 to 34.7 kN, and the compressive performance of the Type 3 panel was better than the Type 1 panel. Finally, the numerical model was established and compared with the results of the experiment. The average error between the simulated and empirical results was only 3.366 %, which showed that the numerical model was valid. Three types of numerical models for the honeycomb panels were constructed based on the performances of aluminum alloy, and then, numerical analyses were performed to determine the lateral compression and eccentric compression. The results showed that the lateral compression of the wall end column honeycomb panel outperformed that of the traditional honeycomb plate. The thickness of the upper and lower panels of the beetle plate had the greatest influence on the lateral pressure-bearing capacity of the system. The panel thickness increased from 1 to 2.5 mm, the yield-bearing capacity increased by 2.44 times, and the maximum bearing capacity increased by 2.36 times. The results showed that the eccentric lateral compression performance of the wall end column honeycomb board improved significantly and was greater than that of a traditional honeycomb board. When the eccentric distance was 7 mm, the ultimate bearing capacity increased by 23 %. In this study, the mechanical characteristics of the honeycomb panel under lateral and eccentric compression were determined, which provided a theoretical basis for the application of this kind of aluminum alloy honeycomb panel in the field of engineering.