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• Innovative metamaterial design approach proposed to improve energy absorption capacity. • Varying the structural parameter (D/d) enhanced the metamaterial auxetic effect. • HPH metamaterials absorb energy effectively horizontally with their honeycomb structure. • HPH metamaterials show excellent reusability at lower compression ratios. Hexagonal perforated honeycomb (HPH) metamaterials were designed, fabricated and investigated in this work. Initially, the mechanical properties and deformation modes of various proposed HPH metamaterials (HPH-U, HPH-1 L and HPH-3 L) under quasi-static vertical compression were analyzed using experimental and finite element methods. The findings reveal significant improvements in mechanical properties and energy absorption due to the honeycomb and hierarchical expandable design. Notably, the auxetic effect is diminished. Subsequently, the impact of key dimensional parameters on the mechanical properties and Poisson's ratio behavior was explored. The results highlighted that an increase of elliptical perforation major axis to minor axis ratio enhanced the auxetic effect but compromised load-bearing and absorptive capacity. Additionally, HPH metamaterials displayed exceptional performance under quasi-static horizontal compression, with their honeycomb structure enabling them to withstand both vertical and horizontal impacts while exhibiting excellent energy absorption capabilities. The study also identified relative density as a crucial factor influencing horizontal impact performance. Finally, the study subjected the HPH metamaterials to multiple quasi-static vertical repetitive compressions, meticulously analyzing variations in mechanical properties under diverse compression ratios. Due to distinctive structural design and impressive mechanical properties, HPH metamaterials demonstrate immense potential for applications in automotive engineering and sports protection fields. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Novel layered aux-hex honeycomb (LAHH) filled tube (LAHHFT) structures are designed and investigated. • Aux-hex interaction and LAHH-tube interaction lead to superior energy absorption performance. • Theoretical models are carried out to describe the double interaction effect. • Deformation modes of the LAHHFT structures are recognized and theoretically interpreted. In this work, a novel layered aux-hex honeycomb (LAHH) filled tube (LAHHFT) structure is proposed and investigated. A series of LAHH and LAHHFT structures with different number of aux-hex interfaces is designed and analyzed via extensive finite element analyses (FEAs). The results indicate that the designed LAHH and LAHHFT structures possess significantly higher effective Young's modulus, mean crushing stress (MCS) and specific energy absorption (SEA) than the single honeycombs and single honeycomb filled tubes under the same relative density. Double interaction effect, i.e. aux-hex interaction and LAHH-tube interaction, contributes to the superior improvement. Quantification of the interaction effect shows that the relative improvement of the MCS and SEA due to the double interaction effect could reach up to 617% and 557% for the LAHHFT structures. Theoretical models are carried out to predict the mechanical and crushing stress properties of the proposed hybrid structures considering interaction effect, which agree well with the FEA results. Besides, the interaction also affects the deformation modes of the LAHH and LAHHFT structures, which in turn influences the energy absorption performance. Three different crushing deformation modes including global bending mode, straight folding mode and mixed deformation mode occur to the LAHHFT structures. A theoretical model is also established and provides a good explanation to the change of deformation modes. This study offers a new route and a useful guideline for the design of future high-performance light-weight materials and structures. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]