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Article history:
Available online 14 August 2010
Keywords:
Honeycomb
Equivalent elastic modulus
Flexural rigidity
Torsion of plate
Elasticity
a b s t r a c t
In this study, the exural rigidity of a honeycomb consisting of regular hexagonal cells is investigated. It is
found that the bending deformation of the honeycomb cannot be evaluated by using the equivalent elastic moduli obtained from the in-plane deformation since the moments acting on inclined walls of honeycomb cell are different for the in-plane deformation and bending deformation. Based on the fact that the
inclined wall of the honeycomb is twisted under the condition that the rotation angle in both connection
edges is zero in bending deformation, a theoretical technique for calculating the honeycomb exural
rigidity is proposed. In the theoretical analysis, a torsion problem of a thin plate was solved by using
the generalized variational principle. The validity of the present analysis is demonstrated by numerical
results obtained by the nite element method.
2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
In recent years, honeycombs have attracted considerable interest as advanced composite materials that satisfy the high performance requirements of machine design. Honeycombs are widely
used in areas ranging from the aerospace industry to household
applications. Thus, it is becoming ever more important to develop
methods for evaluating the elastic properties of various honeycomb materials. Very many studies have been performed on this
topic to calculate the in-plane equivalent elastic moduli of honeycomb [19], including a systematic review of various analytical
methods by Hohe and Becker [10]. Moreover, the three-dimensional problem that incorporates the effect of honeycomb height
has also been analyzed by Grediac [11], Shi and Tong [12], Becker
[13], Hohe and Becker [14], Xu and Qiao [15], Chen and Davalos
[16] and Chen and Ozaki [17] to more accurately calculate the elastic moduli of honeycomb.
In the design process of honeycomb structures, nding the
bending deection when a load acts in the direction perpendicular
to the plane of honeycomb structure is also necessary; however,
this problem has been only partially addressed. Abd El-Sayed
et al. [18] proposed a calculation method of honeycomb curvature
in bending deformation, however it is not highly precise as shown
later. Alderson et al. [19] investigated honeycomb curvature in
bending deformation using simulation results of nite element
model. No highly precise theoretical analysis of this problem has
been reported to date.
In the deformation analysis of honeycomb structures, the honeycomb is usually considered to be a homogeneous plate with
equivalent elastic modulus due to their cyclic cell structure. For a
honeycomb formed from hexagonal cells shown in Fig. 1, the
in-plane equivalent elastic modulus, namely the equivalent elastic
moduli along the x-axis and y-axis Ex and Ey and Poissons ratios mxy
and myx have been considered in the work of Gibson et al. [3]. They
obtained
3
t
Es ;
sin h1 sin h l
3
1 sin h t
Es ;
Ey
cos3 h
l
cos2 h
;
mxy
sin h1 sin h
sin h1 sin h
myx
:
cos2 h
Ex
cos h
In the present research, for the honeycomb cell wall the material
Youngs modulus and Poissons ratio are denoted by Es and ms,
respectively.
In the analysis of a plate bending deformation, the necessary
elastic moduli are the exural rigidities Dx, Dy and D1 [20] which
relate moments M x and M y with curvatures of the deformed plate
1/qx and 1/qy as
Mx Dx
qx
D1
qy
M y Dy
qy
D1
qx
737
Dx
Ex h
;
121 mxy myx
Dy
Ey h
;
121 mxy myx
D1
Ex myx h
:
121 mxy myx
3
It is desirable that Eq. (3) is also applicable to the honeycomb bending problem. However, for a regular hexagonal cell (h = 30) Eq. (1)
yields mxy myx = 1 for Poissons ratio, and the exural rigidities Dx, Dy
and D1 dened by Eq. (3) become innite, thus making analysis
impossible.
Such a problem of mxy myx = 1 is caused by the approximation
technique used in deriving Eq. (1), in which only the bending
deformation of cell walls is taken into account. Masters and Evans
[5] extended the analysis of the in-plane elastic modulus of honeycomb by taking the tensile deformation and shear deformation, besides the bending deformation, of the cell walls into consideration,
which leads to
3
t
1
h
i ;
2
l
sin h1 sin h
1 21 mS tan12 h tl
3
1 sin h t
1
Ey Es
2 ;
3
cos h
l
1 21 mS tan2 h cos22 h tl
2
1 21 mS 1 tl
cos2 h
h
i
mxy
;
sin h1 sin h 1 21 mS 1 t2
tan2 h l
2
1 21 mS 1 tl
sin h1 sin h
myx
2 ;
cos2 h
1 21 mS tan2 h 22 t
Ex Es
cos h
cos h
which is slightly different to Eq. (1). Using Eq. (4) to determine Poissons ratio of a regular hexagon yields mxy myx 1. Then, the bending rigidities Dx, Dy and D1 dened by Eq. (3) become nite values,
thereby making the analysis possible. It seems that the bending
deformation of honeycomb can be analyzed by using the exural
rigidities obtained by substituting Eq. (4) into Eq. (3). However,
our investigation, the details of which will be shown later, shows
a regrettable fact that the exural rigidity obtained in this way cannot be accurately applied to the honeycomb bending analysis.
The rst motive to begin this research is looking for the reason
why Eq. (3) is inapplicable to the honeycomb bending problem,
and trying to propose an effective technique for analyzing honeycomb bend. In this study a detailed investigation of the bending
mechanics of honeycomb is carried out, and a theoretical technique for determining the exural rigidity of honeycomb is proposed. The validity of the present analysis is demonstrated by
numerical results obtained by the nite element method (FEM).
w C 0 C 1 x2 C 2 y 2 :
Fig. 3. Analyzed plate model, which imitates the honeycomb model shown in Fig. 2.
738
1
Dx C 1 D1 C 2 M x ;
2
1
D1 C 1 Dy C 2 M y ;
2
A
A
B
from which
D1 M y Dy Mx
;
C1
2 Dx Dy D21
y
D1 M x Dx M y
:
C2
2 Dx Dy D21
D
B
D
C 0 C 2 y2E ;
(x, y) of the global coordinate system and the plane (n, f) of the local
coordinate system are both located at the center of the height of
the cell wall, and the z and g components are equal, z = g.
Assuming the honeycomb to be an equivalent homogeneous
material, the bending stress caused by the bending moments M x
and M y is given as follows :
rx
Mx z
;
Ih
ry
My z
:
Ih
h
Here, Ih 12
. In this case, as shown in Fig. 6, the force acting on the
vertical cell wall is
qn jv 2ry l cos h;
qf jv 0;
10
and forces acting on the inclined wall in the x and y directions are
pxjl and pyjl.
px jl rx l1 sin h;
py jl ry l cos h:
Here, the subscripts v and l are used to denote the vertical wall and
inclined wall, respectively, and due to the leftright symmetry we
only show the forces acting on the left inclined wall.
The components of force for the inclined wall in the n-direction
and f-direction (out-of-plane direction normal to the wall plane)
can be obtained from forces pxjl and pyjl and are expressed as
qn jl px jl cos h py jl sin h;
qf jl py jl cos h px jl sin h:
(1)
(2)
(3)
0.91
23.51
0.87
23.46
0.045
0.044
12
In the case of the in-plane deformation the force acting on cell walls
due to an in-plane load rx and ry can also be expressed by Eqs.
(10)(12), however the force for honeycomb in-plane deformation
is equal along the height direction (g direction). Therefore, from
the equilibrium conditions of moment around the g axis relating
to the inclined wall, moments Mgjlare necessary to be generated on
both edges of the plate, as shown in Fig. 7a.
M g jl
qf
2
13
Table 1
Deection at point G7 in honeycomb model and plate model for three cases of loading
conditions.
Load case
11
739
(a)
(b)
Fig. 7. Forces acting in f-direction on the inclined cell wall (a) in-plane deformation (b) bending deformation.
Mi / Meq.(13) , Mi / ME
(a)
(b)
Fig. 8. Distribution of moments acting on the inclined wall (a) positions of point E M (b) distribution of moments.
740
0.01
y
A
0.008
z
Q
0.004
w/t
0.006
0.002
Fig. 10. Plate subjected to twisting moment.
0
0.5
/l
0.5
@w
@n
0:
14
nl=2
Such restraint for the cell wall edges is also expected for the in-plane
deformation as well as the bending deformation of honeycomb. For
the in-plane deformation it is conrmed easily that the deection w
satises the condition of Eq. (14) at the connection edges due to action of the moment Mg dened by Eq. (13). This means that, for the
deection analysis of cell wall, the condition of giving force qf with
the moment Mg = qf/2 is equivalent to a condition giving the force qf
with the boundary condition of @w/@njn=l/2 = 0.
Accordingly, in honeycomb bending deformation, moments are
also necessary to be generated at the connection edges of the inclined cell wall in order to satisfy Eq. (14); however, since the moment equilibrium is established around the n axis and g axis for
only the qf force, the values of the moment cannot be found using
Eq. (13). Therefore, in order to analyze the honeycomb bending
machanics based on deformation of each cell wall, we have to
know the deection of a thin plate subjected to force qf under
the boundary condition of Eq. (14).
15
@w
0:
@x
xl=2
16
17
w 0;
x 0 or y 0;
18
M x 0;
x 0;
19
M y 0;
y 0:
20
(2) The shear force and moment at y = h/2 (edge BF) are zero.
@M xy
0; y h=2;
@x
M y 0; y h=2:
Qy
21
22
(3) At x = l/2 (edge BE), the shear force given by Eq. (15) is
applied and the rotation angle around the y-axis is zero.
Qx
@Mxy Q 0 y
;
h=2
@y
@w
0;
@x
y
;
Q Q0
h=2
@4w
@4w
@4w
2 2 2 4 0:
4
@x
@x @y
@y
x l=2:
x l=2:
23
24
M xy 0;
x l=2; y h=2:
25
w Kxy w1 w2 w3 :
26
741
w1
Y n sinan xan ;
28
np
:
l=2
Furthermore, Yn is a function of only y. From the equilibrium equation and the condition that the deection and moment at the OE
edge are zero, Yn can be expressed as follows:
Yn
29
w3
an sinan x;
y h=2:
30
n1;3;...
Z n sinbn ycn ;
39
n1;3;...
n1;3;...
w1
38
27
n1;3;...
an
8
1
>
>
< Hn 2 sinhb l=2 ;
n
>
bn l=2 coshbn l=2
>
: En
Hn :
sinhbn l=2
Zn
40
n1;3;...
The moment at edge BF is zero. Then, the following equation is obtained for w1:
w3
X
@ 2 w1
@ 2 w1
ms
ms
an a2n sinan x;
@y2
@x2
n1;3;...
The moment at edge BE is zero. Then, the following equation is obtained for w3.
y h=2:
31
By substituting Eq. (27) into Eqs. (30) and (31), the coefcients An
and Dn in Eq. (29) can be expressed in terms of an.
8
ms 1
>
>
< Dn 2 sinha h=2 ;
n
>
1 an h=2 coshan h=2
>
: An
Dn :
sinhan h=2
32
w2
X n sinbn ybn :
33
n1;3;...
bn
np
:
h=2
34
Xn
35
n1;3;...
w2 0;
x l=2:
36
X
@ 2 w2
bn b2n sinbn y;
2
@x
n1;3;...
x l=2:
37
By substituting Eq. (33) into Eqs. (36) and (37), the coefcients Enand Hn in Eq. (35) can be expressed in terms of bn.
cn sinbn y;
x l=2:
41
n1;3;...
X
@ 2 w3
@ 2 w1
ms
ms
cn b2n sinbn y;
2
2
@x
@y
n1;3;...
x l=2:
42
By substituting Eq. (39) into Eqs. (41) and (42), the coefcients Inand Ln in Eq. (40) can be expressed in terms of bn.
8
ms 1
>
>
< Ln 2 sinhb l=2 ;
n
>
1 bn l=2 coshbn l=2
>
: In
Ln :
sinhbn l=2
43
4.3. Analysis
For the deection w shown in Eq. (26), the equilibrium Eq. (17),
the boundary condition Eqs. (18)(20) at edges OE and OF, and the
zero moment boundary condition Eq. (22) at edge BF are already
satised; however, the boundary condition Eq. (23) dening the
shear force at edge BE, the boundary condition Eq. (24) dening
the rotation angle of zero around the y-axis at edge BE, the boundary condition Eq. (21) dening zero shear force at edge BF and the
boundary condition Eq. (25) dening zero force at corner B are not
yet satised. Therefore, satisfying the following equation from the
generalized variational principle [21,22] is necessary.
Z
Z
@M xy
Q y
@w
dM x dy
Qx
0 dw dy
h=2
@x
@y
BE
BE
Z
@M xy
Qy
dw dx 2M xy jB dwB 0:
@x
BF
44
R
R
Here, BE dy and BF dx are the integrals along edges BE and BF,
respectively, and MxyjB is the moment Mxy at point B. Furthermore,
dw is the virtual deection satisfying Eq. (17), and corresponding to
this displacement, dMx and dwB are the moments and the displacement of point B, respectively.
For the virtual deection satisfying the equilibrium Eq. (17), we
can select the following possible displacements:
(1) By assuming only am(m = 1, 3, . . .) is non-zero, am 0, the virtual deection becomes
dw Y m sinam xdam ;
and from Eq. (44) we obtain
45
742
l=2
"
@3w
@3w
2
m
s
@y3
@x2 @y
sinam xdx 0;
46
dw X m sinbm ydbm ;
47
@w
sinbm ydy 0;
@x xl=2
Q0
;
Ds
Ds
#
xl=2
9
q0 y =
h=2;
m 1; 3; . . .:
50
E t3
s
:
12 1 m2s
dw xydK;
51
"
#
@3w
@3w
h
2
m
x dx
s
@y3
@x2 @y
2
0
yh=2
8
9
#
Z h=2 <" 3
@ w
@3w
q0 y = l
y dy
2 ms
3
2
: @x
@x@y
h=2; 2
0
xl=2
"
#
@2w
lh
2 1 ms
@x@y
4
l=2
0:
d12 mn b3n
ctwist
l=2
cn d12 mn 0;
l=2
X n sinam xdx 2 ms bn
l=2
Z n sinam xdx 2 ms bn
Z
Z
l=2
l=2
h=2
Y n sinbm ydy;
0
h=2
wjxl=2 dy
h
57
1
l=10mm, h=10mm, t=1mm
N=49
bn d11 mn
m 1; 3; . . .;
53
an d21 mn
n1;3;...
i
X h 0
bn X n
xl=2 cn Z 0n
xl=2
n1;3;...
56
n1;3;...
y sinbm ydy
R h=2
w|x=l/2 / (Khl/4)
n1;3;...
h=2
52
an e1 n
h=2
Z h=2
d31 mn a3n
Y n sinbm ydy 2 ms an
Y 00n sinbm ydy;
0
0
2 0
e1 n Y 000
n 2 ms an Y n yh=2 ;
" Z
#
Z l=2
h 3 l=2
bn
X n x dx 2 ms bn
X 00n x dx ;
e2 n
2
0
0
" Z
#
Z l=2
l=2
h 3
e3 n
bn
Z n x dx 2 ms bn
Z 00n x dx ;
2
0
0
" Z
#
Z h=2
h=2
l 3
00
f1 n
a
Y n y dy 2 ms an
Y n y dy ;
2 n 0
0
000
f2 n X n 2 ms b2n X 0n xl=2 ;
2 0
f3 n Z 000
n 2 ms bn Z n xl=2 :
n1;3;...
By taking terms until n = N (N is odd) in the approximation, the unknowns an, bn, cn(n = 1, 3, . . . , N) and K can be obtained from Eqs.
(53)(55) with m = 1, 3, . . . , N and Eq. (56), and the deection of
the plate can be found. In particular, the rotation angle ctwist of edge
BE with respect to edge OF can be calculated from the deection at
edge BE wjx=l/2 by the following equation:
xl=2;yh=2
bn f2 n cn f3 n
cn e3 n
n1;3;...
lh1 m h
K an Y 0n
yh=2 an bn X 0n
xl=2 bn
2
i q l Z h=2
y2 dy:
bn Z 0n
xl=2 cn 0
h 0
48
Here,
q0
bn e2 n
n1;3;...
d21 mn an
@3w
2 ms
: @x3
@x@y2
X
n1;3;...
n1;3;...
49
8
Z h=2 <" 3
@ w
an f1 n
d11 mn b3n
dw Z m sinbm ydcm ;
sinbm ydy 0;
l=2
Here,
m 1; 3; . . .:
n1;3;...
yh=2
m 1; 3; . . .:
an e1 n
0.5
h=2
m 1; 3; . . .;
54
X
n1;3;...
an d31 mn
bn f2 n cn f3 n
n1;3;...
sinbm ydy
q0
h=2
h=2
sinbn y
0
0
h=2
y sinbm ydy;
m 1; 3; . . .;
55
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
y/(h/2)
743
Table 2
Torsion coefcients qs.
h/l
ms
FEM
0.25
0.0
0.3
0.112
0.143
0.110
0.138
0.50
0.0
0.3
0.198
0.246
0.196
0.238
1.00
0.0
0.3
0.293
0.344
0.309
0.344
For the deection w expressed by Eq. (26), only the solution of Kxy
and w3 of Problem 3 have non-zero deection at edge BE. Fig. 11
shows the distribution of deection wjx=l/2 along edge BE found with
N = 49 for a plate with l = 10 mm, h = 10 mm and t = 1 mm. The vertical axis shows the deection wjx=l/2divided by Khl/4, where values
of K are obtained from the solution of the simultaneous equations.
As shown in the gure, for deection wjx=l/2, compared with Kxy, the
inuence of w3 is extremely small, and along edge BE, the deection
wjx=l/2 is almost equal to (Kl/2)y and is distributed linearly. The value of ctwist calculated from Eq. (57) equals Kl/2 to three signicant
gures.
4.4. Values of ctwist
It is seen from the simultaneous Eqs. (46), (48), (50) and (52)
that the twisting angle ctwist can be expressed in the following
form:
ctwist qs h=l; ms
3
Q0
l
;
t
Es l
Fig. 12 shows the rotation angle for each cell wall when only
moment M y is acting. The sign of each rotation angle shown in
the gure is labeled as positive. The same labeling is used in
Fig. 13 below.
58
M y h=2
:
Ih
61
Substituting this equation into Eq. (60), the rotation angle hvx of
edge AA0 with respect to edge BB0 of the vertical wall becomes
2
hv x 2
M y l cos h
:
EIh t
62
hv y 0:
63
My h=2
:
Ih
64
Substituting this equation into Eq. (60), the rotation angle hlr of the
inclined wall is obtained as follows:
2
hlr
M y l cos h sin h
:
EIh t
65
T T0
g
h=2
Fig. 12. Rotation angle of each cell wall when only moment M y is acting.
59
hT
T 0l
:
Es th=2
60
Fig. 13. Rotation angle of each cell wall when only moment M x is acting.
744
Therefore, the rotation angles hlrjx and hlrjy around the x-axis and yaxis are
66
M y h=2
:
Ih
67
Substituting this equation into Eq. (58), the rotation angle hls of
edge CC0 with respect to edge BB0 of the inclined wall becomes
"
# 3
l
2 M y h=2
hls 2qs h=l; t=l; m cos h
:
Es I h
t
68
76
Mx h=2
:
Ih
77
Substituting this equation into Eq. (58), the rotation angle hls of the
inclined wall is obtained.
"
Mx h=2
hls 2qs l; h; t; E; m sin h1 sin h
Es I h
#
3
l
:
t
78
Therefore, the rotation angles hlsjx and hlsjy around the x-axis and yaxis are described by the following equations:
Therefore, the rotation angles hlsjx and hlsjy around the x-axis and yaxis are
69
qy
hlr jx hls jx hv x
;
l1 sin h
My
x My
hlr jy hls jy 2
:
2l cos h
70
qx
C x Mx C 1 My ;
qy
C 1 Mx C y My :
C1
My
My
Cy
qy
My
My
72
x Mx
hlr jy hls jy 2
:
2l cos h
hv y 0:
73
M x h=2
:
Ih
74
Substituting this equation into Eq. (59), the rotation angle hlr of the
inclined wall is obtained.
Cx
qx
M
Mx
C1
qy
M
Mx
81
Mx
C y q1 C 1 q1
x
C x C y C 21
My
C x q1 C 1 q1
y
Mx l cos h1 sin h
:
EIh t
C x C y C 21
Dx
Cy
C x C y C 21
Dy
Cx
C x C y C 21
82
D1
C 1
C x C y C 21
83
Table 3
Flexural rigidity of honeycomb with h/l = 0.25,t/l = 0.05 and ms = 0.3.
75
Therefore, the rotation angles hlrjx and hlrjy around the x-axis and yaxis are
hlr
80
from which the exural rigidity used in the plate bending analysis is
obtained as follows:
Fig. 13 shows the rotation angle for each cell wall when only
moment M x is acting.
Mx
hv x 0;
hlr jx hls jx
;
l1 sin h
79
71
qx
qy
Dx/Esh3
Dy/Esh3
D1/Esh3
0.00136
0.00137
0.00121
0.00136
0.00137
0.00121
0.00105
0.00104
0.00119
745
G1
G2
G3
G4
G5
G6
G7
0.11
0.27
0.30
0.33
0.42
0.62
0.91
0.11
0.27
0.30
0.33
0.43
0.62
0.92
0.11
0.25
0.29
0.31
0.41
0.60
0.88
3.41
7.95
9.08
9.75
12.04
16.63
23.51
0.13
0.30
0.34
0.37
0.48
0.70
1.03
Table 5
Deection at points G1 G7 in honeycomb model and plate model when M y 28:33 N is acting
Point
G1
G2
G3
G4
G5
G6
G7
0.14
0.34
0.39
0.41
0.49
0.64
0.87
0.15
0.34
0.39
0.42
0.50
0.65
0.87
0.14
0.33
0.38
0.41
0.48
0.62
0.84
3.44
8.03
9.17
9.84
12.11
16.65
23.46
0.16
0.38
0.44
0.46
0.55
0.72
0.98
Table 6
Deection at points G1 G7 in honeycomb model and plate model when M x 28:33N and M y 28:33N are acting.
Point
G1
G2
G3
G4
G5
G6
G7
0.032
0.074
0.084
0.085
0.063
0.020
0.045
0.034
0.079
0.090
0.091
0.069
0.024
0.044
0.034
0.079
0.090
0.091
0.069
0.024
0.044
0.034
0.079
0.090
0.091
0.069
0.024
0.044
q f jl
My g
2
lcos2 h sin h sin h 0
Ih
84
0.034
0.079
0.090
0.091
0.069
0.024
0.044
In Tables 46 are shown also results of the plate deection analysis using the calculation method of curvature proposed by Abd ElSayed et al. [18]. Their results are correct in general as compared
with the results obtained from FEM analysis. In their analysis,
the twisting deformation of the inclined cell wall is taken into account. However, since the boundary condition at the connection
edges, namely Eq. (14) is not satised in the analysis, the results
are always larger than the results of FEM about ten percent, as
shown in Tables 4 and 5.
7. Conclusion
In this research, the exural rigidity of a honeycomb consisting
of regular hexagonal cells was investigated and the following results were obtained:
(1) The honeycomb bending deformation can not be treated as a
plate bending problem using the equivalent in-plane elastic
modulus.
(2) The moments acting on the honeycomb inclined cell wall
differ for honeycomb bending deformation and in-plane
deformation.
(3) The honeycomb inclined cell wall undergoes twisting deformation for the bending deformation; however, the rotation
angle at both connection edges is zero.
(4) A method for calculating the honeycomb exural rigidity
based on the bending and twisting deformation of each plate
forming the honeycomb was proposed. In the theoretical
analysis, the torsion problem of a thin plate was solved by
746