investigation of energy absorption performance of lattice hybrid structure combining hexagonal honeycomb and expansion tube mechanism: a numerical study

In this study, to enhance energy absorption performance, a new hybrid structure was designedand introduced by combining a hexagonal honeycomb energy-absorbing structure with anexpandable tubular energy absorber. the primary objective was to investigate the synergisticeffect resulting from the hybridization of these two mechanisms and to evaluate itsperformance quantitatively. after designing three structures (simple honeycomb, expandabletube, and hybrid) in solidworks 2023, quasi-static compression simulation was performedusing the explicit method in abaqus 2022 software, employing the drucker-prager materialmodel. after confirming the superiority of the hybrid structure in the simulation, a samplewas fabricated using 3d printing and subjected to an experimental compression test. thesimulation results revealed that the hybrid structure, compared to the simple honeycomb,increased total energy absorption (ea) and mean crushing force (mcf) by an average of approximately 82%, and specific energy absorption (sea) by 27.5%. this significant improvement is attributed to the simultaneous and synergistic action of the lattice cell collapse mechanism and the extensive plastic deformation of the tube, leading to more uniform stress distribution and more effective engagement of the material volume. the acceptable agreement between the experimental and numerical results confirmed the validity of the analysis. this research presents an effective step toward developing a new generation of lightweight energy absorbers with high efficiency and reliability.