Mechanical Behavior of Polycarbonate Circular Honeycombs under In-plane Biaxial Compression

In-plane equi-biaxial compression tests were conducted quasi-statically on polycarbonate circular honeycombs in a conventional universal testing machine with a specially designed test rig. In view of the complex characteristics of the deformation in a honeycomb block under biaxial compression, the focus was put on the initiation and evolution of deformation inhomogeneity. An inhomogeneity index, Iinh, is defined as a function of the overall compression of a sample to quantify the severity of the deformation inhomogeneity of the honeycomb block; and it facilitates quantitative comparisons among the results under various loading conditions. To examine the role of the friction between the honeycomb sample and the test rig, and to explore the effect of dynamic loading, finite element analysis is carried out to simulate the collapse process of a circular honeycomb block under equi-biaxial compression. The numerical simulation also reveals the transition from a global collapse mode (although inhomogeneous) to a...