Finite element modelling and analysis of bearing capacity of honeycomb beam

The stiffness, strength, and global stability of a honeycomb beam under bending moment are analyzed using finite element method. Through the analysis of the stress distribution on different cross sections and the effect of the number of the holes on the bearing capacity of the honeycomb beam, some aspects which should be considered in the design stage are presented. From the finite element analysis, it is found that the stiffness and the strength are both greatly improved for a honeycomb beam formed from an H-shape or an I-shape beam. However, failure may occur at the edge of the hole due to the stress concentration when a honeycomb beam fails. The number of the hole has little influence on the global stability of the honeycomb beam, and thus the stability can be checked using the conventional method which is used for calculating the stability of an H-shape beam in the design stage.