Enhanced origami honeycomb core with granular jamming and vortex structure for impact energy absorption

Impact absorption structures have been used to minimize the impact energy in various fields such as automotive and aerospace. The honeycomb structure, a representative impact absorption structure, has been widely applied due to its high impact absorption capacity. However, it has the drawback of generating a high peak force during impact. In this study, the origami pattern was applied to the honeycomb structure to reduce the peak force while increasing the impact absorption rate. In addition, as a strategy to further enhance the absorption energy, the origami honeycomb structure applying a platonic polyhedron-shaped pellets filled structure and a vortex structure was designed and experimentally verified. The results show origami hives with vortex structures with respect to impact absorption showed approximately 63% higher energy absorption (EA) compared to traditional honeycomb structures, demonstrating superior performance. The pellet-filled origami honeycomb structure also showed a 15% to 40% improvement in impact absorption. Moreover, in the case of the origami honeycomb structure and the pellet-filled origami honeycomb structure, it was observed that the peak force is lower compared to the traditional honeycomb structure.