EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION INTO ENERGY-ABSORBING BEHAVIOR OF HIERARCHICAL HONEYCOMB COMPOSITE TUBES

This paper investigates the energy-absorbing behavior of hierarchical honeycomb composite tube (HHCT) which inspired by both the microstructural features of a beetle's forewing and geometrical features of a spider's web. Multi-mold combination vacuum bag moulding method was used to manufacture the Biomimetic Multi-Cell Tubes (BMCTs). Quasi-static axial crush load and low velocity crush load tests were conducted to study. The BMCT-MA2 structure demonstrates a 6.5% higher dynamic energy-absorbing capability compared to its quasi-static counterpart. In contrast, the specific energy absorption (SEA) of BMCT-MA1 remains nearly unchanged under both loading regimes. On the other hand, the quasi-static SEA of the plain circular tube is 13.8% lower than its dynamic counterpart. These findings provide valuable insights for the design of crash-resistant hierarchical honeycomb composite structures, particularly for applications that involve extreme crush conditions.