Reliable comparison of multi-directional mechanical properties for biomimetic circle arc honeycombs

Curved honeycombs, inspired by biomimetic strategies, often have better mechanical properties and a wider range of tunability compared to straight honeycombs. Research into these curved honeycombs is growing, but few studies compare multiple designs or consider isotropy. This study replaces straight walls with circle arc walls in five classic honeycomb designs, creating curved honeycombs for analysis. We validated our numerical modeling in ANSYS by testing 3D printed specimens. We evaluated the Young’s modulus, yield strength, Poisson’s ratio, and energy absorption (EA^*)of circle arc hexagon (CAH), circle arc square, circle arc triangle, circle arc re-entrant, and circle arc double-V (CAD) under different loading conditions. Results showed CAH has the best EA^* and high isotropy, with all isotropic factors below 0.1. CAD shows a negative Poisson’s ratio effect in all directions. These findings offer benchmarks for future curved honeycomb research.