Compression performance analysis of hexagonal and re-entrant hybrid honeycomb structures

The performance of honeycomb structures is closely related to the shape of the unit cell, and traditional honeycomb structures with a single design often fail to meet the diverse requirements of various applications. To address this limitation, a hybrid design strategy has been proposed. In this study, we present a novel hybrid honeycomb structure by combining the traditional hexagonal honeycomb with a re-entrant honeycomb configuration, aiming to resolve the trade-off between stiffness and energy absorption capacity. Furthermore, a dual-material hybrid honeycomb structure is designed by replacing polylactic acid (PLA) with polyurethane elastomer (TPU) at key nodes. We perform uniaxial quasi-static compression tests to investigate the compression characteristics, energy absorption properties, and repeatable loading performance of the proposed honeycomb structures. The results demonstrate that the hybrid honeycomb structure exhibits superior stiffness and energy absorption compared to the hexagonal honeycomb, the dual-material hybrid honeycomb structure shows excellent repeatable loading performance. In addition, we conducted parametric research by changing the internal angles and wall thickness of the unit. Therefore, the developed honeycomb structures are capable of meeting a wide range of application scenarios. • Hybrid honeycomb by combining hexagonal honeycomb with re-entrant honeycomb is proposed for improving mechanical performances. • Replacing PLA with TPU material at key nodes of honeycombs can achieve repeatable loading performances. • Combining hybrid design strategy with dual material printing technology can meet changing application scenarios.