Study of Impact Properties of a Fluid-Filled Honeycomb Structure

Abstract

The work presented in this paper is a continuation of the study conducted on exploring impact properties of a functionally graded bio cellular structure found in a banana peel. The graded cellular structure with unfilled cells reacts intelligently to impact loading and crushes in a manner that results in a higher amount of energy absorption as compared to an equivalent regular honeycomb structure. In this paper, a non-Newtonian fluid is introduced into the cells of a regular honeycomb structure, and its effect on energy absorption properties are studied using an experimental approach. The results are compared with impact mitigation properties of an unfilled regular honeycomb structure. The introduction of non-Newtonian fluid significantly enhances the energy absorption capacity of regular honeycomb structure, and therefore, suggests that fluid inside a banana peel structure is playing a critical role in energy and impact absorption. A rudimentary relationship between the numbers of fluid filled layers and total energy absorption capacity of the structure is presented through a regression analysis.