Parametric design and energy absorption of non-uniform classic honeycombs mapped by topology optimization

AbstractIn this article, a non-uniform design method mapped by density-based topology optimization is proposed and applied to the classic hexagonal honeycombs. A parametric investigation is conducted to explore the effect of crucial factors on the in-plane and out-of-plane crashing behaviors and energy absorption of the non-uniform honeycomb mapped by topology optimization. Compared to classic hexagonal honeycombs, the in-plane specific energy absorption of the non-uniform honeycomb mapped by topology optimization is improved by 29.1%, and its peak stress is decreased by 16.9%. Meanwhile, the out-of-plane specific energy absorption is increased by 19.8% without a significant rise in peak stress.Keywords: Honeycombnon-uniform designtopology optimizationenergy absorptionfinite element analysis Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.Data availability statementThe raw/processed data required to reproduce these findings cannot be shared at this time as the data also forms part of an ongoing study.Additional informationFundingThe support of this work by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51975438, U1564202) is greatly appreciated.