Numerical Simulation for the Honeycomb Core Sandwich Panels in Bending by Homogenization Method

Nowadays, with the continuous development of science and technology, computer software has been widely applied and is increasingly popular in many fields such as the automobile, aviation, space, and shipbuilding industries. Numerical simulation is an important step in finite element analysis and product design optimization. However, it is facing challenges of reducing CAD model building time and reducing computation time. In this study, we have developed a homogenization model for the honeycomb core sandwich plate to reduce the preparation of the CAD model as well as the computational times. The homogenization consists of representing an equivalent homogenized 3D-solid obtained from the analysis calculation in-plane properties of honeycomb 3D-shell core sandwich plate. This model was implemented in the finite element software Abaqus. The simulations of tensile, in-plane shear, pure bending, and flexion tests for the case of the 3D-shell and 3D-solid models of the honeycomb core sandwich will be studied in this paper. Comparing the results obtained from the two models shows that the 3D-solid model has close results as the 3D-shell model, but the computation time is much faster. Thereby the proposed model is validated.