Review article

Textile Research Journal

2018, Vol. 88(17) 2024–2031

Bending properties of three-dimensional ! The Author(s) 2017

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honeycomb sandwich structure DOI: 10.1177/0040517517703602
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composites: experiment and Finite
Element Method simulation

Lihua Lv, Yaoli Huang, Jingrui Cui, Yongfang Qian, Fang Ye and
Yuping Zhao

Abstract
This paper fabricated three-dimensional (3D) honeycomb sandwich structure fabrics with three different cross-section
shapes on an ordinary loom by reasonable design with low cost. The 3D honeycomb sandwich structure composites
were fabricated by the vacuum assisted resin transfer molding process. Then, the bending properties of 3D honeycomb
sandwich structure composites with different cross-section shapes were tested. The results showed that the 3D honey-
comb sandwich structure composite with a hexagonal cross-section shape had the maximum load, the 3D honeycomb
sandwich structure composite with a triquetrous cross-section shape had the minimum load and the 3D honeycomb
sandwich structure composite with a quadrangular cross-section shape had a load between the two. The bending failure
mode showed that the 3D honeycomb sandwich structure composite had a typical bending failure mode with compres-
sion failure in the front and tensile failure in the back. Finally, the load–displacement curves and failure mode were
obtained by FEM (Finite Element Method) simulation with ABAQUS software. The good agreements of comparisons
proved the validity of the FEM.

Keywords
three-dimensional woven fabric, honeycomb composite, bending properties, failure mode, Finite Element Method
simulation

Honeycomb three-dimensional (3D) textile structural weaving principle on a dobby rapier loom or jacquard
composites were fabricated with honeycomb 3D textile rapier loom. Dong6 changed the crimping device and
fabrics used as the reinforced phase and resin used as the let-off mechanism to study honeycomb 3D integrated
matrix phase. Most ordinary honeycomb composites fabrics. Liu et al.7 fabricated 3D honeycomb sandwich
were pressed with plate material, and the processing structure fabric with basalt fiber yarns on a CSW053
method was simple, but the integrity of the ordinary computer controlled loom. Zhu et al.8 prepared 3D
honeycomb composites was poor and it was easy to sandwich woven fabric with a hexagonal cross-section
crack.1,2 Compared with ordinary fabrics, 3D honey- shape on an ordinary loom. Nie and He9 put for-
comb sandwich structure fabrics have many advantages ward the sub-organizations concept in the design
such as large thickness, large stiffness, small mass, trans-
formable cross-section shapes(square, rhombus, sine
curve, hexagon, etc.) and so on.3–5 In view of these
advantages, honeycomb 3D textile structural compos- Department of Textile Engineering, Dalian Polytechnic University,
ites have drawn more and more attention and could be P.R. China
widely used in aerospace, automobile, shipbuilding, con-
Corresponding author:
struction, storage, pipeline and other fields. Lihua Lv, Department of Textile Engineering, Dalian Polytechnic
In weaving, Tianjin Polytechnic University1 wove a University, Dalian, P.R. China.
new fabric by combining a honeycomb structure and Email: [email protected]
Lv et al. 2025

of multi-layer woven fabric and quickly and accurately low cost. We used 600 tex glass fiber filaments tows as
drew the organization chart of multi-layer woven fabric warp yarns and 2000 tex basalt fiber filaments tows as
using this method. Chen et al.10 indicated the basic weft yarns. The 3D honeycomb sandwich structure
concept, design and weaving method of honeycomb composites were fabricated by the vacuum assisted
3D integrated fabric. At present, the 3D honeycomb resin transfer molding (VARTM) process. Then, the
sandwich structure fabric has been fabricated by a bending properties of 3D honeycomb sandwich struc-
dobby rapier loom or an improved loom, but the weav- ture composites with different cross-section shapes were
ing process is tedious and the cost of production is high. tested. Finally, the load–displacement curves and fail-
In addition, there are no detailed processing parameters ure modes were obtained by FEM simulation with
for fabricating 3D honeycomb sandwich structure ABAQUS software.
fabric on an ordinary loom. Lv et al.11 wove honey-
comb and T-shaped 3D integrated woven fabrics on
an ordinary loom, the results of which laid a certain Experimental details
foundation for this paper.
Huang et al.12 studied the shear properties of a six-
Experimental materials and equipment
layer honeycomb 3D woven composite, and they were E-glass fiber filament tows (600 tex) were employed as
compared with those of the laminated plates. Zhu warp yarns and 2000 tex basalt fiber filaments tows
et al.13,14 tested the impacting performance of honey- were employed as weft yarns. Vinyl ester resin was
comb 3D woven composites with glass fiber and poly- used as the matrix. Methyl ethyl ketone peroxide
ester fiber, the results of which showed that the energy was used as the solidification reagent and cobalt
absorption was different from the different fiber volume naphthenate was used as the promoter. The loom
content. Lai et al.15 explored the effects of stitching for weaving a small sample in the lab (Y100S) was
parameters on the flexural properties of the composites used, the VARTM system was used for molding, a
and the results revealed that the failure of the structure universal system prototype (NHY-W) was used for
was mostly due to core shear failure. Raju et al.16 stu- cutting samples and a microcomputer control elec-
died the mechanics performance of honeycomb sand- tronic universal testing machine (RGT-5) was applied
wich composites under low-speed impact and analyzed for testing.
the failure modes. However, the mechanics perform-
ance, failure mechanism and failure mode of 3D honey- Design and weaving of 3D honeycomb sandwich
comb sandwich structure composites should be further
explored. Lv et al.17 studied the mechanical properties
structure fabrics
of 3D woven basalt fiber composite materials with Design of 3D honeycomb sandwich structure fabrics. Three-
experiments and the Finite Element Method (FEM). dimensional honeycomb sandwich structure fabric
Then this also laid a certain foundation for this paper. belongs to the multi-layer binding weave. The warp
Three-dimensional honeycomb sandwich structure structural drawings of 3D honeycomb sandwich struc-
fabrics of three different cross-section shapes were fab- ture fabrics with three different cross-section shapes
ricated on an ordinary loom by reasonable design with are shown in Figure 1. The chain drafts of 3D

Figure 1. Warp structural drawings of three-dimensional honeycomb sandwich structure fabrics with three different cross-section
shapes. Note: the line indicates warp yarn and the dot indicates weft yarn.
2026 Textile Research Journal 88(17)

honeycomb integrated woven fabrics with three differ- Fabrication of 3D honeycomb sandwich structure
ent cross-section shapes were drawn up according to
the warp structural drawings and they are shown in
composites
Figure 2. VARTM was used to prepare 3D honeycomb sandwich
structure composites. In addition, the role of its prin-
Weaving of 3D honeycomb sandwich structure fabrics. The ciple and the structure of each part can be seen in the
weaving parameters of 3D honeycomb sandwich struc- literature.18 The proportion of vinyl ester resin, methyl
ture fabrics are shown in Table 1. In order to make the ethyl ketone peroxide and cobalt naphthenate was
same thickness of three different 3D honeycomb sand- 100:4:2. The unsaturated polyester resin were injected
wich structure composites, the weaving parameters into the preform by the VARTM technique, and then
were different. In addition, the weaving parameters consolidated in the condition of vacuum with the time
were as similar as possible to ensure equal thickness of 60–90 min at normal temperature. Photographs of
of the fabric. For the same thickness, the load–displace- 3D honeycomb sandwich structure composites with
ment curves could be compared. warp cross-sections are shown in Figure 3. (The 3D

Figure 2. Chain drafts of three-dimensional honeycomb sandwich structure fabrics with three different cross-section shapes.

Table 1. Weaving parameters of three-dimensional honeycomb sandwich structure fabrics

Triquetrous cross-section shape Quadrangular cross-section shape Hexagonal cross-section shape

Basalt fiber E-glass fiber Basalt fiber E-glass fiber Basalt fiber E-glass fiber
filaments tows filaments tows filaments tows filaments tows filaments tows filaments tows

Linear density/tex 2000 800 2000 800 2000 800

Layer number of yarns 14 7 12 6 12 6
Density of warp and 80 315 95 270 104 270
weft/(root/10 cm)
Lv et al. 2027

Figure 3. Photographs of three-dimensional honeycomb sandwich structure composites.

Figure 4. Schematic diagram of the three-point bending test.

Table 2. Material properties of three-dimensional honeycomb sandwich structure composites

E11/GPa E22/GPa E33/GPa n12 n23 n13 G12/GPa G13/GPa G23/GPa

Triquetrous cross-section shape 35 6 6 0.25 0.25 0.2 2.78 2.78 2.4

Quadrangular cross-section shape 36.5 7 6.6 0.3 0.3 0.25 3.55 3.05 2.6
Hexagonal cross-section shape 39.6 7.7 7.1 0.3 0.3 0.3 3.82 3.05 2.62

honeycomb sandwich structure fabrics were filled with composite in the weft direction. Then, the samples
polyurethane foam in order to make good molding and were tested on the microcomputer control universal
the filled 3D honeycomb sandwich structure fabrics testing machine (RGT-5). The testing speed was
were prepared with vinylester resin, methyl ethyl 2 mm/min. The schematic diagram of the three-point
ketone peroxide and cobalt naphthenate by VARTM.) bending test is shown in Figure 4.

Testing of 3D honeycomb sandwich structure

Results and discussion
composites
The testing of bending properties was carried out
Material property
according to GB/T 9341-2008/ISO 178:2001 (the The material properties of 3D honeycomb sandwich
sample was 160 mm long and 30 mm wide), and the structure composites are shown in Table 2. These par-
universal system prototype (NHY-W) was used to pre- ameters were difficult to test. So, in this paper the par-
pare testing samples, which were obtained from the ameters in Table 2 were not tested. However, we
2028 Textile Research Journal 88(17)

calculated and debugged them in ABAQUS software. length, width and height in the geometrical model was
The parameters in Table 2 were the most optimal to the 32, 6, and 4, respectively. The number of elements in
results of FEM simulation with ABAQUS software and both sides was the same. The solid element was
experiments. C3D8R. The shapes of the elements were automatically
generated by ABAQUS software. The mesh models of
3D honeycomb sandwich structure composites are
Geometrical models and mesh models shown in Figure 5.
The geometrical models of 3D honeycomb sandwich
structure composites were set up according to actual
specimens in the ABAQUS/Explicit dynamic finite
Load–displacement curve
element analysis module with the left-hand spiral The mean and variance of the maximum loads with
rules. The C3D8R solid elements were used for meshing experiments are shown in Table 3.
the geometrical model. The 3D honeycomb sandwich The experiment and FEM simulation load–displace-
structure fabrics were filled with polyurethane foam in ment curves of 3D honeycomb sandwich structure com-
order to make good molding, so when we did FEM posites are shown in Figure 6.
simulation, the polyurethane foam were filled into com- From Figure 6, the results and trend of the curves
posites; the Young’s modulus resin of the polyurethane of the experiments and FEM simulation were similar.
foam was 39.4 mpa and the Poisson’s ratio of the poly- So, this paper used the reasonable FEM with
urethane foam was 0.42. The total number of mesh ABAQUS software to forecast the load–displacement
model elements with a triquetrous cross-section shape curves of 3D honeycomb sandwich structure compos-
was 2304. The total number of mesh model elements ites. The similar trend of the comparisons proved the
with a quadrangular cross-section shape was 1376. The validity of the FEM. The load–displacement curves
total number of mesh model elements with a hexagonal could be divided into three phases. At the beginning,
cross-section shape was 3584. The number of seeds in the load–displacement curves were almost linear.

abaqus hexagonal
8000 abaqus quadrany
abaqus triquetrous
exp hexagonal
exp quadrany
exp triquetrous
6000
Load(N)

4000

2000

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Displacement(mm)

Figure 6. Experiment and Finite Element Method simulation

Figure 5. Mesh model three-dimensional honeycomb sandwich load–displacement curves of three-dimensional honeycomb
structure composites. sandwich structure composites.

Table 3. Mean and variance of the maximum loads

First Second Third Average Coefficient

Type group/N group/N group/N Mean/N variance of variation

Triquetrous cross-section shape 5083 5051 5072 5068.7 13.3 0.26%

Quadrangular cross-section shape 5319 5333 5304 5318.7 11.9 0.22%
Hexagonal cross-section shape 6583 6603 6576 6587.3 11.3 0.17%
Lv et al. 2029

Figure 7. Overall and partial enlargement photographs and Finite Element Method (FEM) stress nephograms of three-dimensional
honeycomb sandwich structure composites with a triquetrous cross-section shape.

This indicated that the bonding situation was also sandwich structure composites with a quadrangular
good between the resin and the fiber. So, the materials cross-section shape had a load between the two. This
exhibited linear elastic performance. The second phase could be because of the following. (1) Fibrous mass
was that the curves no longer presented straight lines fraction (The fibrous mass fraction of the 3D honey-
and the slope of the curves was reduced. This was comb sandwich structure composites was achieved by
because the contact surface area was increasing the burning method. The specific steps were as fol-
between the samples and the cone with the increase lows: in the heating muffle, the minimum temperature
of displacement. In addition, the resin began to be was set 400 C, the highest temperature was set 600 C
destroyed, and at this time the fiber bundles bore and the honeycomb 3D integrated woven composites
the main load as the reinforced materials and still were heated for 3 h. Then, the resin was volatile and
had a lot of stress tolerance. The third phase was the 3D honeycomb sandwich structure fabrics were
the descending branch. The fiber bundles and resin taken out. The mass difference value of 3D honey-
began to be damaged. comb sandwich structure composites and 3D honey-
From Figure 6, the 3D honeycomb sandwich struc- comb sandwich structure fabrics was divided by
ture composites with a hexagonal cross-section shape volume of the 3D honeycomb sandwich structure
had the maximum load, the 3D honeycomb sandwich composites and this was the fibrous mass fraction.).
structure composites with a triquetrous cross-section The fibrous mass fraction of the 3D honeycomb sand-
shape had the minimum load and the 3D honeycomb wich structure composites with a hexagonal
2030 Textile Research Journal 88(17)

cross-section shape was 63.97%, the fibrous mass frac- section shape were a typical bending failure mode with
tion of the 3D honeycomb sandwich structure com- the compression failure in the front and tensile failure
posites with a quadrangular cross-section shape was in the back. In addition, there was no delamination.
59.27% and the fibrous mass fraction of the 3D Then, the bending failure modes of 3D honeycomb
honeycomb sandwich structure composites with a tri- sandwich structure composites with a quadrangular
quetrous cross-section shape was 57.06%. (2) Cross- cross-section shape and 3D honeycomb sandwich struc-
section area: when the cross-section area was larger, ture composites with a hexagonal cross-section shape
the stable performance of the 3D honeycomb sand- were similar to 3D honeycomb sandwich structure com-
wich structure composites was better. The cross-sec- posites with a triquetrous cross-section shape.
tion area of the 3D honeycomb sandwich structure Furthermore, the 3D honeycomb sandwich structure
composites with a hexagonal cross-section shape was composite had high delamination resistance because
the maximum, the cross-section area of the 3D honey- no delamination was found.
comb sandwich structure composites with a trique-
trous cross-section shape was the minimum and the
Conclusions
cross-section area of the 3D honeycomb sandwich
structure composites with a quadrangular cross-sec- 1. Three-dimensional honeycomb sandwich structure
tion shape was between the two. (3) Organizational fabrics with three different cross-section shapes
structure of junction place: in this paper, for three were fabricated on and ordinary loom by reasonable
different sections, each layer was made of a plain design with low cost.
weave structure. However, the organizational structure 2. The 3D honeycomb sandwich structure composites
of the junction place with a hexagonal cross-section had excellent mechanical properties. In the testing
shape was used for four sets of two weft-one warp- process, the materials showed good interlaminar
two weft, while the organizational structure of the shear strength, no delamination and no splitting phe-
junction place with a quadrangular cross-section nomenon. In addition, the structure of the 3D honey-
shape was used for one set, and the organizational comb sandwich structure fabrics used as the
structure of the junction place with a triquetrous reinforced materials was different, and the bending
cross-section shape used a plain weave structure. properties of composite materials made of 3D honey-
This was seen in Figure 1.The organizational struc- comb sandwich structure fabrics also showed a large
tures of the junction place of 3D honeycomb sandwich difference. The 3D honeycomb sandwich structure
structure fabrics were different with different cross-sec- composites with a hexagonal cross-section shape
tion shapes. had the maximum load, the 3D honeycomb sandwich
structure composites with a triquetrous cross-section
shape had the minimum load and the 3D honeycomb
Failure mode and failure mechanism sandwich structure composite with a quadrangular
The results of three kinds 3D honeycomb sandwich cross-section shape had a load between the two.
structure composites were similar. So, we only used 3. This paper applied the reasonable FEM with the
the 3D honeycomb sandwich structure composites ABAQUS/Explicit dynamic finite element analysis
with a triquetrous cross-section shape as an example. module to forecast the bending properties of 3D
The overall and partial enlargement photographs and honeycomb sandwich structure composites. The
FEM stress nephograms of 3D honeycomb sandwich good agreements of the comparisons proved the val-
structure composites with triquetrous cross-section idity of the FEM.
shape are shown in Figure 7.
From Figure 6, the results and trend of these curves
of experiments and FEM simulation were similar. In
Declaration of conflicting interests
addition, from Figure 7, the breaking forms and the
place of experiments and FEM simulation were consist- The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this
ent. So, from Figures 6 and 7, the FEM models can
article.
accurately predicted the experimental results. We saw a
good agreement of bending deformation and damage of
3D honeycomb sandwich structure composites with a Funding
triquetrous cross-section shape in Figure 7 between the The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial sup-
experimental and FEM results, which proved the ver- port for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
acity of the finite element model. From Figure 7, the article: The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support
bending failure modes showed that the 3D honeycomb from the National Science Foundation of Liaoning Province
sandwich structure composites with a triquetrous cross- (201602051).
Lv et al. 2031

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