Sensing and actuation of smart chiral honeycombs

A chiral honeycomb configuration is developed with embedded piezosensors and actuators for smart sandwich panel applications. The chiral honeycomb concept is made of repeating units of cylinders and plates (ligaments), featuring an in-plane negative Poisson's ratio. Rapid Prototyping vacuum-cast and FDM (Fusion Deposition Moulding) techniques are developed to embed micro fibres composites to be used for potential structural health monitoring (SHM) applications, and microwave absorption screens for electromagnetic compatibility. Finite Element models are also developed to prototype and simulate the response, sensing and actuation capability of the honeycombs for design purposes. Dynamic tests using scanning laser vibrometers and acoustic wave propagation are carried out to assess the feasibility of the concept.