Optimal design of honeycomb material used to mitigate head impact

Abstract

This paper presents a study of the impact resistance of honeycomb structure with the purpose to mitigate impact forces. The objective is to aid in the choice of optimal parameters to minimize the thickness of the honeycomb structure while providing adequate protection to prevent injury due to head impact. Studies are presented using explicit dynamic finite element analysis representing the case of an unprotected drop of a rigid impactor onto a simulated floor consisting of vinyl composition tile and concrete. Analysis of honeycomb material to reduce resulting accelerations is also presented where parameters such as honeycomb material modulus, wall thickness, cell geometry and structure depth are compared to the unprotected case. A simplified optimization analysis technique using a genetic algorithm is presented to demonstrate the use of this method to select a minimum honeycomb depth to achieve a desired acceleration level at a given level of input energy. It is important to select a minimum material depth in that smaller dimensions lead toward more aesthetic design that increase the likelihood that the device is used.