๐ฌ Honeycomb structures get a bio-inspired upgrade for crash safety ๐ฟ
Researchers developed a new grass stem-inspired honeycomb structure with curved cell walls to boost energy absorption. This structure was created by modifying the conventional hexagonal design and tested via quasi-static compression experiments. The study compared a conventional and a convex curved cell-wall honeycomb, fabricated using 3D-printed PLA. The optimized design showed a 2.18% increase in Specific Energy Absorption and a 19.75% reduction in Peak Crushing Force. This finding shows major potential for creating lighter crashworthiness applications.