Numerical study on energy absorption performance of novel bionic helmet liner

Abstract

In this paper, by introducing the pyramid-shaped spine configuration of durian shells and bidirectional corrugated configuration of jaw feet of mantis shrimps into the helmet liner, a bidirectional staggered rectangular frustum liner was designed. Finite element simulation of impact was carried out on liners with various pyramid-shaped cell structures, and the kinetic behavior of the liners of different structures during impact compression was studied. The results showed that the decrease in the inclination angle of the outer walls of pyramid-shaped cells and the bidirectional-cell design can both improve the specific energy absorption of the helmet, and that the bidirectional staggered rectangular frustum helmet has the highest specific energy absorption, 2.7 times that of the gradient lattice or 1.3 times that of the honeycomb helmet. This is because the bidirectional staggered rectangular frustum cell design enhances the connection between adjacent cell walls, resulting in a larger deformation area during the impact process and participation of more material in energy storage, thus significantly improving the overall energy absorption performance.