Numerical study on the compressive behaviour of an aluminium honeycomb core

In this research, a hexagonal honeycomb core under a compressional load is studied numerically from the initial elastic regime to the fully crushed state using the Abaqus finite-element modelling.Two modelling approaches, i.e., a static analysis and an explicit non-linear analysis are applied to a 3D model of an aluminium honeycomb core.This honeycomb structure is compressed quasi statically using rigid plates and displacement control.Moreover, the crushing of the honeycomb-core structure and the failure due to buckling are verified numerically, and a study is also performed to show how different densities, cell sizes and specimen sizes can affect the average crush force and plateau force.A comparison between experimental and numerical results is drawn, showing that the numerical models can effectively predict the mean crushing force and mechanical behaviour with a good accuracy.