Abstract
This paper develops an optimum cell structure design method considering the in-plane tensile/compression and shear properties to improve the stiffness and strength of the honeycomb core. The equivalent elastic modulus in the X or Y direction and shear modulus in the XY plane are derived using Energy Method for hexagonal, quadrilateral and concave hexagonal cells, and are compared with the results in the related literatures. The multi-objective optimization model in which the vertical wall length, wall thickness and inner angle of the cell are taken as design variables is solved by Genetic Algorithm to maximize the equivalent elastic moduli. The static and dynamic characteristics of the honeycomb cores with original and optimized cells are studied using Finite Element Method. The results show that after the cell optimization, the maximum displacement, stress and strain obviously decrease, thus improving the structural performance of the honeycomb core. The research provides significant guidance for the design of the cell structure.
Highlights
The metallic and polymeric honeycomb cores widely used in panel structures, energy absorbers and insulation layers are formed by periodic permutation and combination of prismatic cellular microstructures [1-3]
Cinar et al [12] optimized the thickness, diameter and inner angle of a three-dimensional cell using Genetic Algorithm (GA) combined with a finite element solver to minimize the natural frequency difference square sum of the honeycomb panel
The maximum displacement occurs at the cell located in the bottom-left of the honeycomb core, and the maximum stress and strain are at the bottom-left cell connections
Summary
The metallic and polymeric honeycomb cores widely used in panel structures, energy absorbers and insulation layers are formed by periodic permutation and combination of prismatic cellular microstructures [1-3]. Their tensile/compression and shear properties can be improved effectively by the cell structure optimization [4, 5]. Zhang et al [7] optimized the cell size of a honeycomb structure by NSGA to maximize the energy absorption efficiency. Qiu et al [8] optimized the size and key point coordinates of a hexagonal cell using Genetic Algorithm (GA) to minimize the flexibility of a chiral honeycomb panel. Sorohan et al [11] adopted the optimization module of ANSYS software to optimize the cell geometric parameters of a hexagonal honeycomb core with out-of-plane isotropic properties. The structural performance of original and optimized honeycomb cores are investigated using statics and modal analysis
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