In-plane biaxial crush response of polycarbonate honeycombs

The crushing response of a polycarbonate circular cell honeycomb to inplane biaxial loading under displacement control is analyzed. The study involves a combination of experiment and numerical simulation. Experiments correspo nding to several different biaxial loading conditions are carried out. In t he first phase of the response, the material deforms in a uniform fashion. Next, a nonlinear phase caused by the progressive localization of deformati on is characterized by the variation of overall (macroscopic) stiffness. Th e progressive localization causes the walls of each cell to contact. These periodic honeycomb materials show different collapsed modes under different biaxial loading histories. Experimental measurements indicate how the magn itude of the collapse load varies and how the load-displacement response ch anges as a function of load biaxiality. The experimental results are simula ted through numerical analysis using the finite-element method.