Mechanical Properties of Honeycomb Structures Fabricated Based on Origami Technology

Honeycomb sandwich structure with high strength and light weight is increasing being used to replace traditional materials, which is widely applied in automotive, shipping and aerospace fields. However, because its production process is very complicated, especially for the honeycomb structure with irregular sections, it is easy to appear defects and damages during secondary processing such as bending and cutting. To avoid secondary processing, origami technology is proposed, and two types of honeycomb sandwich structures are designed and produced. The deformation behaviors and mechanical properties of honeycomb structures were investigated by the three-point bending test and flatwise compressive test. The load-displacement curve obtained at the room temperature indicates that the deformation process can be approximately categorized into three zones, namely linear-elastic zone, plastic-plateau zone and densification zone. The experimental results show that the bending stiffness and compressive strength of the honeycomb structures are approximately 0.32 kN·m² and 0.39 MPa, respectively; the honeycomb structure manufactured based on origami technology has good mechanical properties.