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• Three kinds of honeycomb structures were printed using carbon fiber reinforced composites, and the tensile mechanical properties of honeycomb structures were studied by combining experimental and simulation analysis methods. Finally, the relationship between fracture toughness and fractal dimension of tensile fracture surface is analyzed by fractal theory. The study employed chopped fiber-reinforced nylon composite, referred to as "Onyx," along with continuous carbon fiber materials. Using the material extrusion manufacturing process, three sandwich structures were created: a conventional, a concave hexagonal with negative Poisson's ratio, and a feather-inspired structure. Tensile testing and finite element simulations were conducted to analyze their tensile properties and crack propagation paths under tension. Fractal dimensions were calculated for each structure: the standard structure had a dimension of 1.4626, the bionic feather-inspired was 1.4810, and the negative Poisson's ratio concave hexagonal structure measured 1.4973. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The battery-pack system of electric vehicles is prone to collide with low obstacles on the road, causing battery short circuits and even explosions. It poses a great safety threat to passengers and drivers. The honeycomb structure's high energy absorption and lightweight properties have made it a popular choice in the automotive industry. This paper designs different bio-inspired honeycomb structures to a battery-pack system of electric vehicles to improve the crashworthiness performance. The effects of different bio-inspired honeycomb structures on the crashworthiness of a battery-pack system during frontal impact are analyzed based on a nonlinear finite element model. First, the geometric parameters of seven different bio-inspired honeycomb individual units are described. The overall structure of the honeycomb is applied to a battery-pack system. Second, the nonlinear finite element model of a battery-pack system and honeycomb structures are established and verified. Then, collision simulations are conducted. The deformation and the maximum stress of a battery-pack's bottom shell are computed. The energy absorbed by the honeycomb structures during frontal impact are investigated. The results indicate that the proposed bio-inspired honeycomb structure mimicking grass stems improves the safety performance of battery-pack systems most. Finally, a parametric design is carried out on the bio-inspired honeycomb structure. The effects of wall thicknesses and the number of replacement hexagons on the crashworthiness performance are analyzed. The honeycomb structure preforms best when thickness is 1 mm and the number of replacement hexagons is 2 and 4. The optimized bio-inspired honeycomb structure reduces the deformation of the battery-pack' bottom shell by up to 30%, and maximum stress by 10%. • The deformation, maximum stress, and energy absorption are investigated. • The effects of seven bio-inspired honeycomb structures are analyzed. • Parametric design is carried out to further improve the crashworthiness performance. • The deformation of the bottom shell can be reduced by up to 30%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]