In-Plane Mechanical Behavior Design of a Locally Rib-Reinforced Rotating Hexagonal Honeycomb

This study develops a novel Locally Rib-Reinforced Rotational Hexagonal Honeycomb (LRRH) model. The objective is to systematically enhance the model's mechanical performance and energy absorption efficiency through geometric morphology construction. The structure combines triangular and hexagonal units through a rotational arrangement, forming a rotating rigid structure (RRH), upon which re-entrant parallelogram units are embedded. A Finite Element simulation was developed in Abaqus/Explicit. Its reliability was validated by comparing the numerical predictions against the outcomes of quasi-static compression experiments. The axial impact response and energy absorption attributes of the configuration were thoroughly evaluated by adjusting the hexagonal cell angles and applying a symmetric design approach. The experimental outcomes indicate that the SEA of the RRH-Type I-180°-180° model surpasses that of the RRH-Type I-105°-105° by 43.68%, and the SEA of the LRRH-Type I-105°-105° achieved a significant 97.88% increase compared to the LRRH-Type I-180°-180° variant. Meanwhile, the SEA of the RRH-Type I-180°-180° honeycomb increased by 121.2% and 11.79% compared with the LRRH-Type I-180°-180° and LRRH-Type I-105°-105° structures. Parametric analysis results indicate that wall thickness and impact velocity are critical factors influencing energy absorption performance. The enhancement of structural thickness considerably strengthens its flexural resistance and pressure tolerance.