Energy Absorption Characteristics of a Novel Asymmetric and Rotatable Re-entrant Honeycomb Structure

Based on the symmetric re-entrant honeycomb (S-RH) structure with negative Poisson’s ratios, a novel asymmetric and rotatable re-entrant honeycomb (AR-RH) structure was proposed. Both the S-RH structure and AR-RH structure were produced by the 3D printing technology. Through experimental test and finite element simulation, the deformation mechanism and energy absorption characteristics of the AR-RH structure and the S-RH structure with negative Poisson’s ratios at different impact velocities were compared. The experimental test and finite element simulation results show that the novel AR-RH structure with negative Poisson’s ratios has stronger energy absorption capacity than the S-RH structure, and it has been verified that the rotatability of AR-RH can indeed absorb energy. Furthermore, the degree of asymmetry of the AR-RH structure was discussed.