The elastic and geometrical properties of micro- and nano-structured hierarchical random irregular honeycombs

• Published in: Journal of materials science Vol. 49; no. 16; pp. 5690 - 5702
• Main Authors: Zhu, H. X., Zhang, H. C., You, J. F., Kennedy, D., Wang, Z. B., Fan, T. X., Zhang, D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.08.2014; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Classical Mechanics; Computer simulation; Crystallography and Scattering Methods; Deformation effects; Deformation mechanisms; Elastic constants; Elastic properties; Elasticity; Finite element method; Honeycomb; Honeycomb construction; Initial stresses; Materials Science; Nanostructure; Polymer Sciences; Self-similarity; Shearing; Solid Mechanics; Strain; Structural hierarchy; Thickness; Walls; Initial Relative Density; Hierarchy Level; Finite Element Simulation; Cell Wall Thickness; Surface Elasticity
• ISSN: 0022-2461; 1573-4803
• DOI: 10.1007/s10853-014-8288-y

All the five independent elastic properties/constants of micro- and nano-structured hierarchical and self-similar random irregular honeycombs with different degrees of cell regularity are obtained by analysis and computer simulation in this paper. Cell wall bending, stretching, and transverse shearing are the main deformation mechanisms of hierarchical honeycombs. The strain gradient effects at the micro-meter scale, and the surface elasticity and initial stress effects at the nano-meter scale are incorporated into all the deformation mechanisms in the analysis and finite element simulations. The results show that the elastic properties of hierarchical random irregular honeycombs strongly depend on the thickness of the first-order cell walls if it is at the micro-meter scale, and that if the thickness of the first-order cell walls is at the nano-meter scale, the elastic properties of hierarchical random irregular honeycombs are not only size-dependent, but are also tunable and controllable over large ranges. In addition, the geometrical properties of nano-structured hierarchical random irregular honeycombs are also tunable and controllable.