SCIENCE CHINA

Technological Sciences
Special Issue: Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Harbin Institute of Technology https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-020-1650-9
•Review•

New advances in fiber-reinforced composite honeycomb materials

1,2 1,2* 3 4
WEI XingYu , XIONG Jian , WANG Jie & XU Wu
1
Center for Composite Materials and Structures, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China;
2
National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Advanced Composites in Special Environments, Harbin Institute of Technology,
Harbin 150080, China;
3
Shanghai Aircraft Design and Research Institute, Shanghai 201210, China;
4
School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China

Received March 15, 2020; accepted May 22, 2020; published online July 20, 2020

In sandwich structures, lightweight cellular materials as the core hold the face sheets far away from the neutral axis to maximize
the bending performance of the structure. Honeycomb materials as a major type of lightweight cellular materials have been
widely applied in various fields, including aerospace, vehicle, marine, architecture and mechanical engineering, due to reliable
mechanical properties and excellent designability. Using fiber-reinforced composites is an efficient method to develop ultralight
honeycomb materials with superior mechanical behaviors. In recent years, fiber-reinforced composite honeycomb materials
possessing lightweight and excellent mechanical performances have attracted noticeable attention to replacing traditional
aluminum honeycombs and Nomex honeycombs. Compared to metal, polymer and Nomex paper, fiber-reinforced composites
possess various merits, such as high specific stiffness and specific strength, excellent fatigue property, corrosion resistance and
high-temperature resistance. Thus, the applications of fiber-reinforced honeycomb material for sandwich core have unlimited
potential in hypersonic vehicles, long-range rockets, cargo vessels and protective systems. Although the fact that attention has
been rapidly increasing, there is a lack of comprehensive reviews of new advances in the field of fiber-reinforced composite
honeycomb materials. In this review, new advances reported by different scientists in the field of fiber-reinforced honeycomb
materials have been reviewed and analyzed to provide an in-depth overview and knowledge for beginners in the field of ultra-
lightweight and high-performance composite sandwich architectures. The challenges and prospects for the development of fiber-
reinforced honeycomb materials have also been presented.
composite, honeycomb materials, sandwich structures, failure mechanism, mechanical property

Citation: Wei X Y, Xiong J, Wang J, et al. New advances in fiber-reinforced composite honeycomb materials. Sci China Tech Sci, 2020, 63, https://doi.org/
10.1007/s11431-020-1650-9

1 Introduction ganization in a plain area [1]. This kind of topological ma-

The microstructural organization plays a significant role in
the mechanical performance and multifunction of cellular
materials. The ideal organization is characterized by cutting
redundant weight down as well as reserving primary load-
bearing capacity. Honeycomb materials as a significant class
of cellular materials are characterized by a two-dimensional
array of polygons, which served as a cyclical topology or-
*Corresponding author (email: jx@hit.edu.cn)
terials is inspired by nature and can be obtained from natural
products, such as beehives [2], microstructures of woods and
bamboos [3], beetle shells [4] and primary osteons of deer
antler [5]. The reason why these porous materials are se-
lected by natural products after evolving over millions of
years is their excellent mechanical behaviors at low relative
densities [6,7]. By means of encircling lightweight cellular
materials with robust thin skins, the flexural property of a
holistic structural system is further improved [8]. For in-
stance, tree trunks possess tough outer skins for withstanding

© Science China Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020 tech.scichina.com link.springer.com
2 Wei X Y, et al.
moderate gale and faveolate interior for lightweight and
absorption of nutrients [9]. Similarly, beetle shells have
evolved to resist buckling, reduce the weight burden and
improve shock resistance through the sandwich structure
consisted of a robust cuticula and honeycomb-shaped filler
[10]. Therefore, honeycomb materials have been employed
as the core of the sandwich structure and applied in various
fields, such as aerospace [11], aircraft [12], vehicle [13],
marine [14], architecture [15] and protection system [16].
With the honeycomb fabrication technologies have been
progressively advanced, honeycomb structures can be made
from various types of materials, including metal, non-
metallic, paper and polymer, to apply for all kinds of en-
gineering background [17–19]. Especially, aluminum hon-
eycomb and Nomex honeycomb have been most widely used
in the sandwich structure as carrying components [20]. In
comparison to those materials, fiber-reinforced composites
perform higher specific stiffness and specific strength, which
show the limitless potential of developing advanced light-
weight structure [21,22]. Besides, fiber-reinforced composite
materials have good corrosion resistance and excellent fati-
gue properties [23,24]. In recent years, fiber-reinforced
composite honeycomb materials possessing lightweight and
excellent mechanical performances have attracted noticeable
attention to replacing traditional aluminum honeycombs and
Nomex honeycombs. Despite the rapidly increasing atten-
tion, there is a lack of comprehensive reviews of new ad-
vances in the field of fiber-reinforced composite honeycomb
materials.
This paper systematically generalizes and summarizes the
recent development in the fabrication, mechanics and pro-
mising application of fiber-reinforced composite honeycomb
structures to provide an in-depth overview and knowledge
for beginners in the field of ultra-lightweight and high-
performance composite sandwich architectures. The fabri-
cation techniques, corresponding mechanical characteriza-
tion and multifunctional design of composite honeycomb
materials are reviewed in sections 2, 3 and 4, respectively.
Subsequently, the promising applications of composite
honeycomb materials are discussed in section 5. Section 6
prospects the future areas of growth for composite honey-
comb materials with ultra-lightweight and high performance.
2 Fabrication techniques of composite honey-
comb materials
The fabrication technique is the most crucial point to facil-
itate widespread applications in engineering, which needs to
manufacture high-quality materials at high speed and low
cost. Mechanical characterization, failure mechanisms and
structural shortcomings of the materials made by different
fabrication methods are different. Therefore, in this paper,
Sci China Tech Sci
the classification of fiber-reinforced composite honeycomb
materials are summarized and reviewed according to fabri-
cation techniques and associated cell configurations and
shown in Figure 1. This figure summarizes the main fabri-
cation techniques and the types of reinforced fibers already
reported in the literature. It provides an overall cognition for
fiber-reinforced composite honeycomb materials.
2.1 Hot press molding method
The hot press molding method is widely used to manufacture
composite structures in which the structure is cured in a
mold. This standard method can also be adapted to make
honeycomb cores with specially designed molds that can
hold the fiber prepreg in the desired shape. A kind of hex-
agonal honeycomb composite structure with natural fiber-
reinforced is manufactured by this design philosophy [25]. A
specially designed mold made of periodically arranged
hexagonal steel pillars was used, as shown in Figure 2(a).
The hexagonal steel pillars were firmly attached to a flat steel
plate at the bottom using screws and left sufficient clearance
between the pillars, as shown in Figure 2(b), to form uniform
grooves that were later used to house the fiber prepreg. As
the first fabrication step, the jute fabric was placed between
the inserts following the zig-zag pattern of the groove.
Thereafter, vinylester was poured into the mold along the
grooves between the pillars. Then, this wetted preform was
placed in a hydraulic press with uniform pressure and set
temperature for a certain time. This process caused the nature
fiber honeycomb walls to be cured in the grooves between
the steel cell’s hexagonal inserts. A picture of the post-
fabricated honeycomb core is shown in Figure 2(c).
It is worth noting that the process did not involve addi-
tional transverse force on the jute fabric while placing it into
Figure 1 The classification of fiber-reinforced composite honeycomb
materials already reported in the literature.
 Wei X Y, et al.
the mold and that the resulting fiber-volume fractions were
different for the longitudinal and diagonal walls due to the
different numbers of fiber layers necessary to complete the
structure. The lack of pressure in the transverse direction
resulted in insufficient pressure on the prepreg during curing
and thus somewhat poor fabrication quality due to voids in
the final structure. This can be alleviated by modifying the
process into a molding scheme in which lateral pressure can
be applied during curing. To this end, a second hot press
manufacturing method was also proposed; this second
method allows for lateral compression of the mold ensemble
to press the honeycomb walls during curing [25]. This
method was achieved by altering the hexagonal pillars from a
fixed grid into a series of movable arrays that can move
against each other and form a comb-like structure, as shown
in Figure 3. The resin-wetted jute fabric was first placed
between the combs in the ribbon direction and then the en-
semble was laterally pressed and clamped to remove the
excess resin, thus ensuring that the honeycomb walls were
cured under both pressure and temperature.
Another hot press molding method with a simpler mold
can also be employed to apply pressure on fiber prepreg
Figure 2 (Color online) The hot press molding method [25]. (a) Bottom
plate and inserts; (b) pre-assembled honeycomb; (c) fabricated honeycomb
core.
Figure 3 (Color online) Hot press mold with lateral compression [25].
(a) Fabrics in the mold; (b) force press on the combs; (c) picture of open
mold; (d) picture of the closed mold.
Sci China Tech Sci 3
during the curing step [26]. This method translates curing an
integral honeycomb block to several singly corrugated sheets
by altering a series of movable arrays into a pair of corru-
gated molds, such as square molds, circular molds and
hexagonal molds, as shown in Figure 4(a)–(c). The carbon
fiber prepregs were firstly cured into certain shapes using
corrugated molds, which ensure the walls were flawless and
uniform under optimum molding conditions. Then, the
honeycomb was shaped up by cutting the corrugated sheets
into suitable height and bonding them together, as shown in
Figure 4(d).
2.2 Vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding method
The vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM)
method is very popular in the composite industry for making
composite structures with large size and complex config-
uration at a low cost. Thus, this method can be employed to
fabricate high-quality fiber-reinforced honeycomb materials
by developing special molds [27]. The hexagonal molds
were used to fix strips of jute woven fabric in a bottom panel,
as shown in Figure 5(a). Typically, to avoid voids in the fine
structures, polyester resin and curing agent mixed with
specific proportion were infused into the mold through the
assistance of the vacuum pump, as shown in Figure 5(b).
After curing, the honeycomb was bonded to the composite
face sheets using a heated hydraulic press, as shown in
Figure 5(c) and (d). Compared with the hot press molding
method, VARTM method can design and fabricate honey-
comb structures with irregular shapes and special config-
urations by using corresponding molds. However, for both
hot press molding method and the VARTM method, high-
cost molds and manual processes limit the dimensions and
prices of composite honeycomb materials.
Figure 4 (Color online) Hot press mold with corrugated mold [26].
(a) Square molds; (b) circular molds; (c) hexagonal molds; (d) manu-
factured honeycomb blocks.
4 Wei X Y, et al.
Figure 5 (Color online) Vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding method
[27]. (a) Hexagonal molds and jute woven fabric strips fixed in a bottom
panel; (b) infusing step with the assistance of the vacuum pump; (c) a
sample sandwich panel with glass fiber skins and jute fiber honeycomb
core; (d) a sample jute fiber-reinforced honeycomb sandwich panel.
2.3 Interlocking method
The interlocking method without using molds was developed
to fabricate gird structures [28], which are regarded as a kind
of honeycomb materials with large cell sizes and thick walls,
due to their two-dimensional topology. This method tackles
the geometric complexity of a grid core by relying on several
pieces with grooves to interlock with each other; thus, this is
a very convenient and low-cost fabrication technique. This
method for manufacturing high-quality composite grid ma-
terials is relatively cost-effective and scalable. In this ap-
proach, the glass fiber composite ribs were pultruded and all
the fibers were aligned along the rib direction to fully exploit
the stiffness and strength of the composite materials. The
grids themselves can be organized into bi-grid, tri-grid or
quad-grid cells based on the number of ribs crossing each
intersection during the interlocking process. Because dif-
ferent grid configurations have different mechanical prop-
erties, this method provides significant leeway in the design.
For instance, the compressive properties of bi-grids are much
better than those of tri-grids and quad-grids at the same
weight due to their superior longitudinal stiffness and
strength. Both tri-grids and quad-grids have balanced com-
pressive and shear properties; besides, the shear properties of
these two configurations are much better than those of bi-
grids because of the stronger restraining force between the
interlocking ribs in different orientations. The interlocking
method was later used to fabricate square-honeycombs that
Figure 6 (Color online) Fabrication of sandwich columns with 3D honeycomb grids cores by using cut carbon fiber-reinforced composite sheets and
interlock method [34]. (a) Egg honeycomb grids; (b) pyramidal honeycomb grids.
Sci China Tech Sci
were manufactured from composite sheets using a procedure
similar to that developed for metallic honeycombs [29].
Carbon fiber bi-grid composites have been fabricated using
composite laminate sheets with various fiber architectures
using the interlocking method [30]. Typically, to obtain a
honeycomb grid with better compressive and shear proper-
ties at a low weight, the rib number and orientation need to be
optimized. To this end, the Kagome-grid was considered the
optimal choice for compressive and shear loading and in-
terlocked cores reinforced with carbon fibers in a composite
Kagome-grid were manufactured [31,32].
All the previously studied honeycomb grids had closed-
cell architectures because the interlocking pieces were la-
minates without holes. However, the interlocking method
can be readily used for fabricating honeycomb grid struc-
tures with open space in the core part with suitable inter-
locking pieces [33,34], as shown in Figure 6. An interlocking
method for manufacturing 3D carbon fiber composite egg
and pyramidal honeycomb grids was developed [35]. First,
carbon fiber composite laminates are made using T700/
epoxy prepreg. Two pieces of honeycomb plates are cut by
an electronic engraving machine, and then these plates with
grooves and holes are assembled together using the inter-
locking method. Two different topologies of honeycomb grid
cores can be formed by choosing caulking grooves during the
interlocking process. All egg honeycomb grid core can be
interlocked by both long caulking grooves, whereas a pyr-
amidal lattice core is assembled through long and short
caulking grooves. The fabricated egg and pyramidal hon-
eycomb grids cores are sketched in Figure 7(a) and (b), re-
spectively.
Despite the promise of this method, manufacturing a high-
performance composite honeycomb grid is an inherently
difficult task. For instance, the rib intersections can result in
a weak place where failure can initiate, and stiffness reduc-
tions may occur. This is physically unavoidable as fibers
always interfere at the rib intersections. The interlocking
method minimizes these vulnerabilities while significantly
improving the ease of fabrication at a relatively low cost. The
discussion above clearly demonstrates the potential benefits
of the interlocking method as a technique to address the
material and geometric complexities that arise when manu-
facturing composite lattice-grid materials. Furthermore, the
relative simplicity of the method makes it amenable for ex-
 Wei X Y, et al. Sci China Tech Sci 5

Figure 7 Photographs of egg honeycomb grids cores with relative density

3.0% (a) and pyramidal honeycomb grids cores with relative density 6.0%
(b) [35]. Figure 8 (Color online) 3D printing method [37]. (a) 3D printing of a
triangular honeycomb composite; (b) schematic illustration of 3D printing
during composite ink deposition.
tending to different materials for grid structures [36], thus
opening up a significant application avenue of grid materials
in chemical and physical sciences, ranging from macroscopic
to nanoscale systems.

2.4 3D printing method

Recent progress in the 3D printing method offers excellent

freedom of both designing and realizing cellular archi-
tectures with complex geometries. The 3D printing method
has been used as an effective method for fabricating cellular
structures by pure materials, but it can also be adapted to
create fiber-reinforced composite architectures. A type of
hierarchical inks mixed with short fibers was created for 3D
printing method [37], as shown in Figure 8. The base for-
mulation of inks contained Epon 826 epoxy resin, nano-clay
platelets, and dimethyl methyl phosphonate. The addition of
nano-clay platelets transforms the resin into a viscoelastic
fluid as shear-thinning behavior of the inks has been im-
proved to embody the essential rheological properties re-
quired for this method. Then, silicon carbide whiskers and
short carbon fibers were added into the base inks due to their
high stiffness and yield stress. The filler species within these
Figure 9 (Color online) 3D printing method of using continuous carbon
inks undergo minimal aggregation or sedimentation due to
fibers [38]. (a) Schematic of the 3D printing of a sandwich structure;
their solid-like nature in the quiescent state. Finally, the fi- (b) sandwich specimens with four kinds of honeycomb cores.
ber-filled epoxy ink was printed through a 200 μm nozzle
and required thermal curing at elevated temperatures to
complete the polymerization process. Different honeycombs was extruded from the nozzle tip, and thermoplastics were
with varying cell geometry were printed using this technique. synchronously heated and printed along the filament. A
Although this 3D printing method of reinforcing by dis- polytetrafluoroethylene tube was passed through to the
continuous fibers was demonstrated for several samples, this nozzle tip to prevent filament buckling inside the nozzle. The
method had a few shortcomings: 3D printing using short extrusion of the filament was set to be equal to the move-
fibers has unresolved issues, including blocking of the nozzle ment, so that the fiber kept in tension during printing. If the
due to aggregation of particles during the printing process, length of a filament was reached to the extremity, another
poor mechanical property and discrepant fiber-reinforced filament would continue to print next to the prior print path.
improvement along with the longitudinal and transverse Sandwich structure with honeycomb core was printed as one
printing directions. Therefore, a 3D printing method of using piece, and sandwich structure with various honeycomb cores
continuous carbon fibers as reinforcing materials has been as shown in Figure 9(b). Despite the reinforcement of the 3D
developed to bring continuous fiber-reinforced superiority printing method, this process has a shortcoming. The fiber
into full play [38]. As shown in Figure 9(a), continuous keeps continuous along the nozzle printing direction. In the
carbon fiber was printed by an FDM-type 3D printer to honeycomb core, all of the continuous fibers fail to reinforce
fabricate a whole sandwich structure. The continuous fiber the mechanical properties of cell walls in the direction per-
6 Wei X Y, et al. Sci China Tech Sci

pendicular to the fiber. It results in inter-fiber shear failure

occurred in the core, when the structure bears bending
loading.

2.5 Tailor-folding method

The tailor-folding method relying on manufacturing cellular

cores from a planar material was proposed to balance the
high-speed manufacturing and mutual reinforcement of fi-
bers [39]. Using this method, the fiber-reinforced prepreg Figure 10 (Color online) Schematic of fabricating process of the tailor-
can be shaped into honeycomb materials by continuously folding method [39].
cutting and folding along tailored routes. Thus, the honey-
comb cores were made without vulnerable points, such as
interlocking slots, and all the fibers in the cells were con-
tinuous. Besides, the dimensions of honeycomb using the
tailor-folding method are not limited by the size of molds as a
continuous fabricating process. The prepregs with woven
fibers or different stacking plies were used to ensure hon-
eycomb materials maintain good mechanical performance at
low surface mass density.
Figure 10 shows a schematic of the fabricating process for
the composite honeycomb sandwich panel. The tailor-
folding method is mainly comprised of four processing steps:
cutting, folding, curing and assembling. In the cutting step, a
numerical control cutting machine was used to cut prede-
signed slits from prepreg. Then, the following two-stage
folding step is the key to the method. The tailored prepreg
was folded up into semi-hexagon corrugated shape with a
folding line perpendicular to a crack. Honeycomb was
Figure 11 (Color online) Two types of fiber-reinforced honeycomb cores,
shaped up by folding semi-hexagon corrugated prepreg back including close-cell honeycombs with different configurations and func-
and forth along the slits and bonding together. It is difficult to tions and open-cell honeycombs from microporous unit to macroporous
handle prepregs with large thickness and lots of layers in the unit.
folding step. Fortunately, honeycomb with the characteristics
of thin wall and low area mass density has much more po-
tential in engineering. In the curing step, an autoclave was
employed to curing honeycomb-shaped prepreg at a constant
pressure of 0.5 MPa and a temperature of 130°C for 2 h.
Hexagonal prism molds made by polytetrafluoroethylene
(PTFE) were inserted into the cells to keep honeycomb shape
under a pressure condition and detached after solidification
of the resin. Depending on the design of cutting and folding
lines, honeycombs with various configurations and functions
can be made. Figure 11 shows two types of fiber-reinforced Figure 12 (Color online) A picture of a 300 mm×300 mm fiber-
honeycomb cores, including closed-cell honeycombs with reinforced sandwich panel with hexagonal honeycomb core.
different configurations and functions and open-cell honey-
combs from microporous unit to macroporous unit. In the fabricating method. Lower fault tolerance is a difficult point
assembling step, a fiber-reinforced honeycomb sandwich in the preparation process, and need to be improved.
panel was obtained by bonding honeycomb core and face Nevertheless, there is an obvious potential for this method to
sheets with the epoxy-based adhesive. Figure 12 shows a achieve automation using suitable materials and an opti-
picture of a 300 mm×300 mm fiber-reinforced sandwich mized manufacturing process. The cutting and folding lines
panel with a hexagonal honeycomb core. predesigned by computer programs and continuous manu-
It is worth noting that this method has an advantage in the facturing process lay a solid foundation for an automatic
continuous manufacturing process using over the previous production line. The high increased speed of the continuous
 Wei X Y, et al.
fabricating process is the key advantage of the tailor-folding
method compared to other hand-based molding fabrications
and can save time and labor costs for composite honeycomb
sandwich structures.
2.6 Summary
The fabrication methods for fiber-reinforced honeycomb
materials have been summarized. We have described the
processes of fabrication techniques in detail and system-
atically discussed both merits and defects to show the
achievements in this filed. It can be found that the fabrication
technique of composite honeycomb materials is gradually
improved to satisfy the needs of the industry. In the next
section, the mechanical characteristics of fiber-reinforced
composite honeycomb are analyzed according to fabrication
methods and cell configurations.
3 Mechanics of composite honeycomb materials
3.1 Out-of-plane compression behavior of composite
honeycomb materials
3.1.1 Square honeycomb grid materials
The square honeycomb grid structure is the simplest struc-
tural construction for the interlocking method. Compression
tests were conducted on composite square honeycombs to
investigate the effects of relative density, parent material
type and orientation and cell geometry [30]. The measure-
ments indicate that the mechanical response was fairly in-
sensitive to the ratio of the cell height to the cell width and
the number of cells but was strongly dependent on the la-
minate type and fiber orientation. Because high specific
strength and specific stiffness can be achieved compared to
other cellular materials, the carbon fiber-reinforced square
honeycombs are a high weight-efficient structure. Elastic
buckling and plastic micro buckling of honeycomb cores
were found in out-of-plane compression. The slots of the ribs
were always the weak area for these cores in out-of-plane
compressive loading.
The compression properties of square and triangular hon-
eycomb core materials fabricated through co-mingled flax
fiber-reinforced polypropylene (PP) and polylactide (PLA)
polymers were also investigated [36]. Initial testing in-
vestigated the sensitivity of the tensile properties of the
composites to variations in processing conditions. Later, a
range of triangular and square honeycomb structures was
manufactured using a simple slotting technique, and it was
shown that the PP-based system was more sensitive to var-
iations in the manufacturing temperature. However, the
tensile properties of the PP systems were significantly higher
than those of the PLA systems. Similar trends were observed
in the compression characteristics of the honeycomb cores,
Sci China Tech Sci 7
where the PP structures were found to offer much higher
strength and energy-absorbing characteristics than those of-
fered by the PLA cores. This study also showed that the
compressive strength and energy-absorbing characteristics
of the square honeycomb cores were significantly greater
than those of their triangular counterparts. It is believed that
the poorer mechanical response of the PLA-based structures
stemmed from the relatively low failure strain of the matrix
material.
3.1.2 Kagome honeycomb grid materials
Kagome honeycomb grid structures possess more stable in-
plane performance than square grid structure. Carbon fiber
Kagome honeycomb grid structures were designed with
stretching-dominated characteristics and fabricated by the
interlocking method [32]. Delamination, buckling and
shearing were found to be the primary damage mechanisms
under out-of-plane compression tests. Because two ribs in-
tersected at the slots and were laterally supported by each
other, the delaminating and buckling behaviors were con-
fined, and the ribs were sheared and snipped into two parts.
Where the ribs rarely intersected, the failure modes for the
thin free ribs were dominated by delaminating and buckling.
The specific stiffness and specific strength of honeycomb
grid materials are independent of the relative density. The
out-of-plane compressive stiffness and strength of the Ka-
gome honeycomb grids reinforced by carbon fibers were
superior compared to other materials, such as honeycomb
and foam. Their experimental results also showed that the
grids are lighter, stiffer and stronger than aluminum honey-
comb grid materials and carbon foams.
3.1.3 Hexagon honeycomb materials
A hexagon honeycomb core structure made of a natural-
fiber-reinforced composite consisting of a vinylester matrix
reinforced with jute fabric was studied [27]. A two-com-
pression molding technique was used to fabricate 6-mm-cell
and 10-mm-cell honeycombs. The out-of-plane compression
tests showed that the core failure mechanisms were yarn
pull-out and fiber breaking. The observed behavior can be
explained by the large wall thickness relative to the cell size
of the jute-vinylester cores, which inhibit buckling, and the
heterogeneities in the composite, which are preferential da-
mage initiation sites. The jute-vinylester cores showed si-
milar specific strength to that of their commercially available
counterparts.
Compressive performances of carbon fiber-reinforced
honeycomb structures made by the tailor-folding method
were investigated [39]. Failure mechanism map was drawn
thought corresponding analytical models to study the dom-
inating failure modes of the structures. As shown in Figure
13, the fiber-reinforced honeycombs with the same cell size
and different wall thicknesses were fabricated by the tailor-
8 Wei X Y, et al. Sci China Tech Sci

Figure 13 (Color online) The all-composite honeycomb sandwich panels under out-of-plane compressive loading condition [39]. (a) The stress-strain
curves; (b) failure mechanism map; (c) compressive failure modes.

folding method and tested under out-of-plane compressive

loading conditions. Compressive buckling and compressive
crushing are two competing failure modes, which are pre-
dicted in theory and validated by experiments. Besides, the
compressive response of pure honeycomb was also measured
to compare with honeycomb sandwich panel. It was found
that compressive strength of pure honeycomb is nearly 80%
of honeycomb sandwich panel due to a lack of effective
constraint of the skins. Because of the reinforcement of
woven fiber and no vulnerable points, such as slots, in
honeycomb, higher specific energy absorption capacities for
the honeycomb made by the tailor-folding method was ob-
served than other technique made, as shown in Figure 14.

3.1.4 3D honeycomb grid materials

A kind of honeycomb structure with the open-cell was de-
signed as a 3D grid structure. Out-of-plane compression tests
and analytical calculations were conducted to study the
mechanical response of carbon fiber-reinforced composite
sandwich panels made with egg and pyramidal honeycomb
grid cores [33]. Crushing was found to be the main failure
mode of the 3D honeycomb grid core sandwich panels under
out-of-plane compression even at low core densities, as
shown in Figure 15. The compressive strength of pyramidal
honeycomb grid sandwich panels was slightly higher than
that of egg honeycomb grid sandwich panels at the same
Figure 14 (Color online) Energy absorption per unit mass for the carbon
fiber reinforced composite honeycomb specimens made by the tailor-
folding method and other honeycombs with various materials [39].
relative density. This difference was attributed to the fact that
the pyramidal honeycomb grid core was formed with more
interlocking points than the egg honeycomb grid core for the
same area, thereby improving the stability and increasing the
strength of the sandwich panel with pyramidal honeycomb
 Wei X Y, et al. Sci China Tech Sci 9

Figure 16 A comparison between the energy absorption capacities per

unit mass of competing for metallic and composite honeycomb grids
sandwich panels [33].

sandwich panel made by the tailor-folding method were in-

Figure 15 (Color online) The compressive stress-strain responses and vestigated through analytical models and experiments [39].
compressive failure modes of pyramidal honeycomb grids cores [33].
The analytical expressions of fiber-reinforced honeycomb
sandwich panel under shear loading are listed as [39]
grid core. Both delamination and fracture were found near Compression stiffness:
the top end of the grid cores, and these failures ran through 1 n
Eeq = n E1i ;
all the grid cores with increasing compressive loads. The i =1

detailed process of grid core delamination can be visualized Shear stiffness:

as a flower that is shaped by the two halves of the laminate. 2
1 n E1i t t 1 n
t
This gradual flowering failure mode also increased energy Geq = 3.27 n + 0.577 n G 12i ;
i =1 1 i i
h l i =1
l
absorption. The relatively long plateau stage in the load- 12 21

displacement compression curves was due to the progressive Compression strength:

failure of the core plates. This progressive failure endowed 2 3 3
E1E 2K c t2 t1
the core plates with improved specific energy absorbing +2 ,
24(1 12 21)sin (1 + cos ) l l
abilities compared to other square honeycombs with low
3
densities (101–102 kg/m ), as shown in Figure 16. b( t 1) cr and b (t 2) cr ,
pk
eq = 1 t2 2 EE K
t1
3
1 2 c
cr + ,
3.2 Shear behavior of composite honeycomb materials 2sin (1 + cos ) l 6(1 12 21) l

3.2.1 Square honeycomb grid materials b( t 1) cr < b(t 2),

The in-plane shear responses of the composite honeycomb cr , cr b( t1) and cr b( t 2);
grid sandwich panels made by the interlocking method were Shear strength:
measured [30]. Different relative densities, ratios of the cell
24 2
height to width and numbers of cells were considered for the E1E 23K s t
, b (t ) f,
specimen. The results showed that the shear strengths of the pk
eq = 12(1 12 21)sin l
honeycombs made from 0°–90° laminates were lower than pk s
eq = sin , f < b (t ).
those of the honeycombs made from woven material with
fibers of ±45°. These differences were believed to arise due Shear buckling and shear fracture as two competing failure
to changes in the failure mode. The two main failure modes, modes were analyzed by failure mechanism map and con-
elastic buckling and shear failure, were observed in the shear firmed by shear tests. As shown in Figure 17, shear buckling
loading of the composite sheet material. occurred in the thin cell wall, which reduces the load-
carrying ability of the sandwich panels but suppressing the
3.2.2 Hexagon honeycomb materials core completely fails with high speed. The shear fracture was
The in-plane shear responses of fiber-reinforced honeycomb observed as the cracks generated in the cell wall and pene-
10 Wei X Y, et al. Sci China Tech Sci

posed the considerable weakness of the bond. Two ribs were

intersected at the slots and were laterally supported by each
other. Delaminating and buckling were limited to the ribs,
which were sheared into two parts. For the thin free ribs, the
failure modes were dominated by delaminating and buckling.
In a later study, the stiffness and the strength anisotropy of
the planar grid composites were researched using the
equivalent continuum method and coordinate transformation
[42]. The authors of that study showed that the strength of the
grid composite always showed an anisotropic characteristic
even if the stiffness was fairly quasi-isotropic.

3.3.2 3D honeycomb grid columns

A series of analytical, experimental and numerical in-
vestigations were conducted to study the response and failure
of composite 3D honeycomb core sandwich panels with
open inner spaces under in-plane compression [34]. In the
analytical part of the study, several failure modes, including
Euler buckling, core shear macro-buckling, face wrinkling,
face sheet crushing, core member crushing and face inter-cell
buckling, were comprehensively studied to predict the failure
modes with different structural parameters. The analytical
expressions of failure loads of composite 3D honeycomb
grid sandwich beam under in-plane compression load are
listed as [34]
Figure 17 (Color online) The all-composite honeycomb sandwich panels Euler buckling (EB):
under in-plane shear loading condition [39]. (a) The stress-strain curves; (b)
failure mechanism map; (c) shear failure modes. k 2 2(EI )eq
FEB = ;
L2
trated the entire edge of the honeycomb. Intra-cell buckling (IB):
Shear properties of sandwich plates made by integrating 2 2 Bh 3f
face sheets with short-basalt-fiber-reinforced polymer hon- FIB = Ef ;
3 lc2
eycomb core were experimentally investigated [40]. It was
Shear macro-buckling (SM):
found debonding between fibers and matrix occurred at the
1 1
sealing edges and honeycomb walls perpendicular to the k 2 2(EI )eq 1
shear direction. In the meantime, the failure modes of the FSM = ( ) + (GcBh c) ;
L2
sealing edges parallel to the shear direction are mainly fiber
breakage, debonding between the fiber and matrix and resin Face crushing (FC):
matrix exfoliation. Besides, the effect of the length of short FFC = 2 f h f B;
basalt fibers on the shear properties of honeycomb sandwich
plates was also studied by double shear experiments [41]. Face wrinkling (FW):
2l
The results showed the integrated honeycomb sandwich c( EI ) f
plate reinforced by 6 mm basalt fibers possessed the best FFW = ;
l2
mechanical property under in-shear loading conditions. Core crushing (CC):
m
FCC = t ch c s.
3.3 In-plane compression behavior of composite hon- 2
eycomb sandwich structures A sample of the failure mechanism maps used to design the
specimens is shown in Figure 18. In the experimental part of
3.3.1 Kagome honeycomb grid columns the study, three different sets of specimens with egg and
Combined buckling and debonding modes, as well as a local pyramidal honeycomb cores were fabricated to study nu-
delamination mode of the laminate skins, were observed merous failure modes, such as face wrinkling, inter-cell
under in-plane compression [32]. The occurrence of the buckling, core shear macro-buckling, face crushing, core
buckling mode at a much lower compressive strength ex- member crushing and core debonding; typical examples are
 Wei X Y, et al. Sci China Tech Sci 11

Figure 18 (Color online) Typical failure mechanism maps for carbon fiber composite sandwich panels under in-plane compression [34]. (a) Egg hon-
eycomb cores; (b) pyramidal honeycomb cores. FW=face sheet wrinkling; FIW=face sheet inter-cell wrinkling; FC=face sheet crushing; CSM=core shear
macro-buckling.

shown in Figure 19. Simulations were conducted to predict

the Euler buckling failure of these structures. In addition,
finite element (FE) models were used to determine the re-
lationship between the normalized compressive peak loads
of honeycomb sandwich columns and span length as well as
the thicknesses of face sheet and core wall. The mechanical
properties of pyramidal honeycomb sandwich columns were
found to be much better than those of egg honeycomb
sandwich columns.

3.3.3 Hexagon honeycomb columns

The edgewise compressive behaviors of the integrated hon-
eycomb sandwich columns made by short basalt fiber re-
inforced polymer were studied [43]. VARTM method was
employed to fabricate the integrated honeycomb columns by
curing the whole structures. The specimens with different
lengths of fibers (3, 6 and 9 mm) were tested under edgewise
compressive loadings. The honeycomb columns were pri-
marily characterized by a compressive failure of the faces
rather than buckling failure bearing edgewise compressive
loading. It was shown that the bonding performance between
face skins and honeycomb core is improved by the re-
inforcement of fibers. Compared with the sandwich columns
reinforced by different lengths of fibers, the honeycomb
sandwich columns with 9-mm-length fibers had optimum
performance in edgewise compression.
3.4 Bending behavior of composite honeycomb sand-
wich structures
3.4.1 Square honeycomb grid beams
The three-point bending behavior of sandwich beams with
square honeycomb cores was studied [44]. The analytical
expressions for four competing collapse mechanisms of
simply supported and clamped sandwich beams under three-
point bending were also derived. Core shear, face micro-
buckling, face wrinkling and indentation were determined to
Figure 19 (Color online) Failure of sandwich panels with egg and pyr-
amidal honeycomb grid cores. (a) Euler buckling; (b) face crushing and
debonding [34].
be the probable failure modes for this beam under bending.
Several topologies of the sandwich beams were selected for
testing, and it was shown that the analytical predictions of the
failure loads showed good agreement with the measure-
ments. In addition, FE analyses of these beams under three-
point bending were performed, and the initiation and growth
of damage in the laminates were included in the FE calcu-
lations. Through these changes, the FE model was able to
successfully predict the measured response of load versus
displacement and the failure modes of the composite beams.
This work reported a thorough characterization of novel grid
beams and explored their failure mechanism. Another im-
portant outcome from this work was the demonstration of
employing relatively simple FE calculations to analyze a
complex material and geometry system.
3.4.2 Kagome honeycomb grid beams
The mechanical behavior of sandwich beams with Kagome
honeycomb grid cores was tested under three-point bending
12 Wei X Y, et al. Sci China Tech Sci

[32]. The strength of the sandwich panel depends on the 3.4.4 Hexagon honeycomb beams
adhesion strength between the face sheet and core. The upper Three-point bending tests were carried out to study the
face sheet was compressed during bending as deflection flexural behavior and failure modes of natural and synthetic
progressed, the face sheet tended to buckle, and debonding fiber reinforced honeycomb sandwich beams obtained by
failure was observed due to insufficient adhesion to the core. VARTM method [27]. Analytical models and failure me-
The scatter in the adhesion strength led to large differences in chanism maps were constructed to predict the mechanical
the peaks of the loading curves. A sudden decrease in the response of jute fiber reinforced honeycomb sandwich
load was caused by the debonding of the upper face sheet beams. The analytical expressions of failure loads of com-
while the lower face sheet and the core still adhered together. posite honeycomb sandwich beam under three-point bending
The loading had to be supported by the weakened panel: the load are listed as [45]
lower face sheet and the core, the residual bearing ability was Core Indentation (CI):
only half of the peak load. As the deflection increase, the grid 1
core bore increasingly large shear forces. Finally, the spe- 1 + cos 22 sin 22 2
FCI = bB 2 + ;
2 c 4 s2
cimen separated into two parts, which destroyed the adhesion
between the lower face sheet and the core, leading to another Debonding (DB):
abrupt decrease in the loading capacity of the panel. The face 4 3 BLt ad
FDB = ad ;
sheets remained intact and were supported by the damaged 3 lc
cores. The damaged panel still possessed a residual loading Shear buckling (SB):
capacity at 12.3% of the peak load. 2K 2
sBh d E1E 2 tc
FSB = ;
6(1 2)
12 lc
3.4.3 3D honeycomb grid beams
Three-point bending tests were conducted to study the me- Intracellular dimpling (ID):
chanical behavior of carbon fiber composite sandwich beams 3
K iE1 4Bh d h f
with egg and pyramidal honeycomb cores [35]. For the FID = ;
1 122 Ll c2
analytical models, it was assumed that the core carried only Shear fracture (SF):
the shear load while the faces carried only the applied mo- 1
ment. Analytical models and failure maps were created to 4Bh d t c 2sin 22 cos 22 2
FSF = + ;
predict the mechanical response and failure modes of all the 3l c t c s
2

specimens with different face sheet thicknesses. Face Face fracture (FF):
wrinkling, face crushing, core member crushing and core 1
debonding were studied using these maps, as shown in 4Bh f h d 1 + cos 22 sin 22 2
FFF = + .
Figure 20. It was found that the stacking sequence and L 2 c2 4 s2
thickness of the face sheets both had a significant effect on Different failure modes of sandwich beams such as core
the overall behavior and failure of composite sandwich pa- shear, core crushing, face wrinkling and face yielding were
nels. Face wrinkling and debonding were also observed un- considered for the predictive failure map construction and
der three-point bending, and typical bending experiments are observed in experiments.
shown in Figure 21. Generally, the experimental results were Three-point bending stiffness, failure load and failure
in good agreement with the analytical results. modes were predicted by the analytical models and the col-

Figure 20 (Color online) Failure mechanism maps for carbon fiber composite sandwich beams under three-point-bending [35]. (a) Egg honeycomb cores;
(b) pyramidal honeycomb cores. FW=face sheet wrinkling, FC=face sheet crushing, CC=core member crushing, CD=core debonding.
 Wei X Y, et al.
Figure 21 (Color online) Bending failure modes of honeycomb sandwich
beams. (a) Egg honeycomb cores; (b) pyramidal honeycomb cores. Both
face wrinkling and debonding modes were observed during the bending
experiments [35].
lapse of the sandwich beams was governed by the dominant
failure mode, which depends on the structural geometries
and material properties [45]. As shown in Figure 22, a three-
dimensional (3D) failure mechanism map was generated to
determine the dominant one among all possible failure
modes, including core indentation, shear buckling, shear
fracture, debonding, intracellular dimpling and face fracture.
Fiber-reinforced honeycomb sandwich beams were fabri-
cated and tested to verify the analytical models and the 3D
failure mechanism map. The experimental results are in good
agreement with the analytical prediction. All of the failure
modes selected from the failure mechanism map were ob-
Figure 22 (Color online) (a) The 3D failure mechanism map for fiber-reinforced honeycomb sandwich beams under three-point-bending; (b) the cross
sections of 3D failure mechanism map; (c) the pictures of failure modes in experiments [45].
Sci China Tech Sci 13
served by the tests. Besides, the paths on the failure me-
chanism map possessing optimal load-weight ratio were
identified and verified by the load-weight ratio minimum
weight design. It was found that the beam owns highest load-
weight ratio when it gives the full potential to each compo-
nent, including the face, core and adhesive layer.
3.5 Impact behavior of composite honeycomb sand-
wich structures
3.5.1 Square honeycomb grid beams
The dynamic response of clamped monolithic beams and
sandwich beams with square honeycomb cores of equal areal
mass was measured by loading the beams at their mid-span
with metal foam projectiles to simulate localized blast
loading [46]. The failure modes of the sandwich beams in-
cluded core fracture, plug-type shear failure of the core,
debonding of the face sheets from the core and tensile
fracture of the face sheets at the supports. Only two failure
modes, delamination of the face sheets and tensile failure at
the supports, were observed for the monolithic composite
beams. The measured dynamic deflections of the beams were
shown as a function of projectile momentum, which was also
compared with results from FE simulations. The quasi-static
−3 −1
compression (strain rate of 10 s ) and dynamic compres-
3 4 −1
sion (strain rates of 10 –10 s ) of carbon fiber-epoxy
composite square honeycombs and the parent composite
structures were experimentally investigated using an in-
strumented Kolsky bar arrangement, which assessed the
potential topologies for making lightweight composite
sandwich core [47]. For the honeycomb with a relative
density of 0.12, shockwave effects became clearly evident at
−1
impact velocities exceeding 50 ms due to the stubbing of
the buckled cell walls against the face of the Kolsky bar.
14 Wei X Y, et al.
3.5.2 Hexagonal honeycomb beams
The low-velocity out-of-plane impact responses of short flax
fiber-reinforced and continuous flax fiber-reinforced poly-
meric core honeycomb beams were studied [48]. The fiber-
reinforced corrugations were fabricated by a matched-die
compression molding method, and the corrugations were
then bonded together to form recyclable honeycomb cores
using ultrasonic methods. A low-velocity impact test has
been carried out to investigate the energy absorption of
continuous fiber-reinforced honeycomb cores and short fi-
ber-reinforced honeycomb core. The results showed that
using honeycombs with cell walls reinforced with con-
tinuous fibers exhibit a larger elastic-region, smaller plastic
deformation and higher peak loadings. It demonstrated
continuous fiber-reinforced honeycomb core possess higher
the energy absorption than the short fiber-reinforced hon-
eycomb core.
The effect of varying rates on the mechanical character-
istics of the sandwich plane with carbon fiber-reinforced
plastic honeycomb core was investigated over a wide range
of loading rates [49]. The VARTM process, using a central
injection point, is used to fabricate honeycomb core [50].
Compared to the quasi-static compressive test (the loading
rate is 0.2 mm/min) [51], it was found the out-of-plane
compressive strength of honeycomb was relatively in-
sensitive to strain rate. In experiments, extensive long-
itudinal splitting and fiber fracture as the dominant failure
mechanisms occurred in the honeycomb. The strength of the
honeycomb with [0°]4 layers was insensitive to strain rate
according to the experimental results of impact loading with
different rates. Failure processes were observed in the form
of fiber fracture and localized crushing, tilting of the walls
and vertical splits in the cell walls. Comparing with one-cell
and five-cell specimens, it was found that the five-cell spe-
cimens have higher specific energy absorption values as the
adjacent cells provide greater levels of support.
3.6 Vibration behavior of composite honeycomb ma-
terials
The free and forced vibration responses of the composite
sandwich panels were investigated by theoretical models and
experiments [52]. Higher-order shear deformation theory
was used to derive the governing equations of motion of the
sandwich. The finite element method was used to solve these
equations. Glass fiber-reinforced honeycomb materials
without and with 0.5% carbon nanotubes were fabricated by
vacuum-aided hand layup technique. The fundamental nat-
ural frequencies of composite honeycomb sandwich panels
were identified by theoretical models and experiments. It is
found that the fundamental natural frequency and loss factor
of composite honeycomb sandwich panel at all modes con-
sidered increase with the percentages of carbon nanotubes
Sci China Tech Sci
increase. The values could increase 14.25%, 22.81%, and
31.15% under free-free, clamped-free and clamped-clamped
end conditions by adding 0.5% carbon nanotubes into core
materials. By means of the comparison of the lowest three
vibration mode shapes, it can be found that vibration am-
plitude of the composite honeycomb sandwich panels can be
reduced by adding carbon nanotubes into core materials.
Carbon nanotubes enhanced the stiffness and damping cap-
ability of composite honeycomb sandwich panels, as the
motion of the polymer chain and the interfacing sliding of
matrix resin and carbon nano-tube (CNT) particles were
limited.
3.7 Summary
The mechanical performances and failure mechanism of
fiber-reinforced composite honeycomb sandwich structures
under fundamental loadings, including out-of-plane com-
pression, shear, in-plane compression, bending, impact and
vibration conditions, were systematically discussed. The
advantages and disadvantages of each cell configuration
were also addressed. All the mechanical properties of com-
posite honeycomb materials made by different fabrication
techniques are summarized in Table 1. The mechanical
properties of composite honeycomb strength were added into
Ashby material selection map, as shown in Figure 23 [55]. It
shows composite honeycomb materials possess higher
compressive strength at low densities and filling the gap of
Ashby material selection map. Besides, all of the in-
vestigated failure modes of the honeycomb sandwich beams
are summarized in Table 2. It is found that the specific
stiffness and specific strength of fiber-reinforced composite
honeycombs are higher than traditional honeycomb materi-
als, thus being attractive alternatives in the engineering ap-
plications.
Figure 23 (Color online) Modified Ashby material selection map after
adding the mechanical performance of composite honeycomb material
[55].
 Wei X Y, et al. Sci China Tech Sci 15

Table 1 Out-of-plane compression and shear properties of composite honeycomb structures

Structural topologies ρ (g/cm )

3 3 2 2
σ/ρ (×10 m /s ) E/ρ (×10 m /s )
6 2 2 3 2 2 6 2
τ/ρ (×10 m /s ) G/ρ (×10 m /s )
2 Parent materials
a) Ref.
(T, E, ρ)
0.157 85.86 − − − E=3.81 GPa,
Jute/VE honeycomb [27]
0.29 51.69 − − − woven [0/90]
0.155 39.06 − − −
0.167 54.68 − − −
E=2.99 GPa,
Square, circular and 3
0.205 69.25 − − − ρ=1.7 g/cm [26]
hexagon honeycomb
[0/90]3
0.227 117.86 − − −
0.280 146.73 − − −
0.838 44.27 − − −
Integrated honeycomb Short fibers [40,53]
1.623 − − 20.59 −
0.034 22.06 8.824 20.59 1.118 T=0.33 GPa,
0.069 56.81 11.362 23.19 1.159 E=63 GPa,
Square honeycomb grid 3 [30]
ρ=1.37 g/cm
0.274 146.72 12.226 14.42 0.693 woven [0/90]4
T=1.06 GPa,
E=128 GPa,
Kagome honeycomb grid 0.138 164.49 10.87 − − 3 [32]
ρ=1.605 g/cm
[0/+45/−45/90]2
0.047 62.80 10.43 − −
T=0.47 GPa,
0.093 56.45 10.70 − − E=54.5 GPa,
3D honeycomb grid 3 [33]
0.093 59.57 10.48 − − ρ=1.55 g/cm
[0/90/90/0]2
0.186 61.34 10.31 − −
0.059 50.00 2.15 15.76 0.73 T=0.53 GPa,
0.111 73.87 1.67 17.21 0.62 E=45.8 GPa,
Hexagon honeycomb 3 [39]
ρ=1.44 g/cm
0.252 108.02 2.10 − − woven [0/90]s
[0]4
0.264 118.48
[0/+45/−45/0] Unidirectional carbon
Hexagon honeycomb fibre cloth [49–51]
0.257 91.20 3
ρ=1.16 g/cm
[0/90]s
0.262 88.17
T=0.33 GPa,
Aluminum2024 honeycomb 0.045 38.31 6.133 30.64 6.444 E=68 GPa, [54]
3
ρ=2.73 g/cm
T=0.46 GPa,
Aluminum5056 honeycomb 0.026 29.15 7.962 23.88 5.308 E=71 GPa, [54]
3
ρ=2.64 g/cm
a) T is the tensile strength of parent materials, E is the tensile modulus of parent materials, and ρ is the equivalent density of parent materials.

4 Multifunctional design of composite honey-
comb materials
4.1 Thermal property design
Fiber-reinforced composite sandwich structures with light-
weight and excellent mechanical properties are remarkable
for building spacecraft. Meanwhile, the thermal property of
composite honeycomb materials also received lots of atten-
tion. The thermal conductivity of sandwich panels with dif-
ferent kinds of fiber-reinforced composites was studied by
analytical prediction and experimental measurement [57]. In
the analytical model, the thermal resistance of a sandwich
panel is the sum of the thermal resistances of skins and core.
Steady state thermal transmission and uniaxial heat flux were
considered in analytical prediction. Honeycomb cores fab-
ricated by the VARTM method using polyester resin and jute,
glass and carbon fiber fabrics were respectively bonded with
glass and jute fiber composite skins. The thermal con-
ductivities of those skins and cores were separately measured
as reducing the total amount of experiments to be performed.
The thermal conductivity of sandwich panels was measured
and calculated with the composite theory from the thermal
conductivity (λ) values of skins and cores, and having a good
agreement with analytical prediction. It was found that all the
16 Wei X Y, et al. Sci China Tech Sci

Table 2 The failure mechanism of composite honeycomb sandwich beams

Structural topologies Loading conditions Face Core Adhesive layer Ref.
Jute/VE honeycomb Three-point bending Yielding, wrinkling Crushing, shear fracture Debonding [27]
Integrated honeycomb In-plane compression Buckling, fracture − − [43]
Square honeycomb grid Three-point bending Microbuckling, wrinkling Indentation, shear fracture − [44]
Intra-cell buckling, local buckling,
In-plane compression − Debonding
Kagome honeycomb grid delamination, fracture [56]
Three-point bending Monocell buckle, lock buckling Shear fracture −

In-plane compression Wrinkling, intra-cell buckling, crushing Euler buckling, shear −

3D honeycomb grid macro-buckling, crushing [34,35]
Three-point bending Wrinkling, crushing Crushing Debonding

Hexagon honeycomb Three-point bending Intracellular, dimpling, fracture Indentation, shear buckling, Debonding [45]
shear fracture

sandwich panels excepted to the ones made with carbon fiber
honeycomb can be considered as appropriate thermal in-
sulators.
Fiber-reinforced composite honeycomb materials posses-
sing both good mechanical properties and high thermal
conductivity are important for the aerospace industry. A type
of composite honeycomb sandwich structure made by the
interlocking method was designed to improve the out-of-
plane thermal conductivity [58]. The theoretical model was
constructed and investigated. It shows the most efficient
method for increasing the out-of-plane thermal conductivity
of sandwich structure is decreasing the interface thermal
resistance of the honeycomb core. Highly oriented graphite
film which in-plane thermal conductivity is up to
1500 W/mK was used to coat the composite laminates before
the interlocking process. The interface thermal resistance of
the honeycomb core is decreased by coating this film. Be-
sides, this value is able to decrease by increasing the volume
content of highly oriented graphite film. After fabrication,
specimens were tested to measure the out-of-plane thermal
conductivity of composite honeycomb sandwich structure.
Finally, the maximum experimental result attains to
13.53 W/mK, which is almost increased 26 times than the
traditional composite honeycomb sandwich structures. This
kind of honeycomb material is suitable for high-end heat
dissipation applications.
4.2 Microwave absorption property design
Radar absorbance is an important factor for stealthy struc-
tures. However, the microwave absorption abilities of carbon
fiber reinforced composites and glass fiber reinforced com-
posites are unsatisfactory. A stretching dominated honey-
comb grid filled with spongy materials was designed to
combine mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced honey-
comb with microwave absorption ability of foam [59]. The
reflectivity of the structure was measured in the darkroom at
normal and oblique incidences. It was found the grid panels
made by carbon fiber reinforced composites and glass fiber
reinforced composites possess good absorption capacity at
the range of 4–18 GHz frequencies. Glass fiber-reinforced
grid shows better absorption ability than carbon fiber-
reinforced grids. The better reflectivity and wider bandwidth
are shown in the thicker panel. The periodic grids improve
the absorption abilities at high frequencies but decrease these
abilities at low frequencies. According to the experimental
data, the reflectivity of this foam-filled grid panels is even
better than the pure absorbing foam panels.
A radar-absorbing honeycomb material with nickel-coated
glass fabric was proposed to reduce the echo radar cross-
section level of the leading edge of a NACA 0012 wing
airfoil [60]. This leading edge of the wing was composed of
two honeycomb core and three face sheets to implement
broad radar absorption. The electrical properties of the glass
fibers were modified by an electroless nickel plating tech-
nique. Dispersing conductive nanoparticles or metal mag-
netic micro-powders in composite materials, which result in
inferior absorbing performance and design uncertainty were
avoided. The broadband radar absorption ability of these
proposed structures was studied by measuring the return loss
and echo radar cross-section level, as shown in Figure 24. It
exhibited −10 dB microwave absorption in the frequency
range of 5.8–16.3 GHz and a resonance peak of −38.1 dB at
8.2 GHz under transverse magnetic mode. The radar cross-
section reduces 10 dB for vertical (VV) polarization and
8 dB for horizontal (HH) polarization were shown in the
frequency range of 6.0–17.8 GHz. Based on the simulation
of the computer model, it was found the echo radar cross-
section levels of the leading edge of NACA 0012 under both
horizontal and vertical polarizations were reduced by 10 dB
from C-band to Ku-band. This fiber-reinforced honeycomb
material has practical usage on the radar-absorbing structure
of stealth aircraft in the near future.
4.3 Sound absorption property design
Sound absorption property of honeycomb materials made by
flax fibers with polyethylene matrix was studied [48]. The
 Wei X Y, et al.
Figure 24 (Color online) (a) The test platform for the measurement of the
return loss and echo radar cross-section level of radar-absorbing honey-
comb material; (b) honeycomb sandwich panel with nickel-coated glass
fabric [60].
sound absorption coefficients of honeycomb sandwich pa-
nels with continuous fibers or short fibers were measured. It
was found the mean values of specimens are between 0.1 and
0.4 at frequencies from 100 Hz to 4 kHz with intervals of 1/3
octaves. The acoustic property of the sandwich structure is
more linked to the materials rather than the structure. The
primary factor of the sound absorption coefficient change
with frequencies. The type of reinforced fibers exerts more
influence at the lower frequencies. The sound absorption
coefficient of continuous fiber-reinforced composites is
higher than the short ones. Meanwhile, the fibrous arrange-
ment and the damped viscoelastic matrix behind the face
sheets play dominant roles at mid-high and higher fre-
quencies, respectively. It is interesting that the modal
damping value of sandwich panel with fiber-reinforced
honeycomb core is lower than the panel with an unreinforced
honeycomb core, which suggests that the viscoelastic prop-
erties of the matrix material control the modal damping va-
lue. However, the honeycomb core only made by matrix
material show poor mechanical properties. Fiber-reinforced
honeycomb materials show a reduction of about 40% in
model damping and an improvement of higher than 100% in
mechanical properties. So, how to define the best available
solution for balance vibration level with mechanical property
is important.
A sound-absorbing periodically arrayed structure was de-
signed to suppress the radiant noise of a submarine [61].
Carbon fiber honeycomb as the skeleton of the absorber was
used for bearing hydraulic pressure. The gradient resonant
cavity layer, the sound-permeable layer and the viscoelastic
bottom layer of the absorber employed different types of
Sci China Tech Sci 17
polyurethane composites. The sound absorption coefficient
of the absorber was predicted by the approximate multi-
layered sound-absorption theory, which is based on a mod-
ified transfer matrix method. After that, the coefficient is
measured by experiments. It was found the coefficient
achieves 0.9 in the frequency range of 2400–10000 Hz under
the hydraulic pressure of 1.5 MPa. The sound-absorption
improvement in specific frequency points was also analyzed
by simulating the displacement, radial velocity and acoustic
pressure distribution of absorber. The experimental results
agree with the theoretical model and simulation. It shows the
addition of carbon fiber honeycomb absorber changes the
sound field distribution in a positive sense. Hence, carbon
fiber honeycomb absorber has the potential for application in
submarine noise insulation and anti-sonar detection.
4.4 Mechanical metamaterials design
Mechanical metamaterials exhibit unnatural behaviors by
rational design of artificial micro-structures. Auxetic hon-
eycomb with a negative Poisson ratio is a typical example of
metamaterials. However, the plastic failure of pure materials
limits the improvement of this special property. Auxetic
honeycomb structures reinforced by continuous fiber were
designed and fabricated by 3D printing technology [62]. A
systematic study including analytical models, printing path-
based finite element model and in-plane experiments was
carried out to investigate the effective stiffness and Poisson
ratio of continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite
auxetic honeycomb structures. Another group of auxetic
honeycomb made by pure polylactic acid material is fabri-
cated and tested as a comparison. Compared with pure ma-
trix, continuous fiber-reinforced composites inhibit crack
growth in the honeycombs. The composite stiffness and
energy absorption of the auxetic honeycombs are increased
by 86.3% and 100% by reinforcing continuous fibers. Be-
sides, Poisson ratios are smaller than pure material honey-
combs. The in-plane mechanical properties of honeycomb
can be controlled by unit cell geometric parameters and fiber
volume fraction. Fiber-reinforced composite provides a new
approach for developing mechanical metamaterials.
4.5 Improvement design for mechanical property
4.5.1 Hybrid designs of honeycomb topology
The hybrid design is a method to improve the mechanical
property of honeycomb material by combining honeycomb
with other topology structures. The simplest hybrid method
is combing honeycomb with foams. A hybrid carbon fiber-
reinforced honeycomb with filling PMI foam was proposed
to enhance the anti-pressure ability [63]. The honeycomb
was fabricated by the interlocking method. Square prismatic
foams were inserted into the honeycomb hole and bonded
18 Wei X Y, et al.
together. This hybrid structure was studied by the theoretical
model, numerical simulation and experiments. It was found
the foam-filled honeycomb possesses higher compressive
strength than empty honeycomb materials. However, the
effects of the filled foams on the compressive strength gra-
dually reduced with the increase of relative density. The peak
stresses of these two materials have little difference when the
relative density is higher than 0.15.
A hybrid design combing honeycomb with a hollow lattice
truss was proposed to improve the buckling resistance [64].
Hot press molding method fabricated the strips combing ribs
and hollow lattice truss. The hybrid honeycomb-lattice was
prepared after interlocking the strips together. The out-of-
plane compressive property of the hybrid honeycomb was
tested and compared with the square honeycomb. Composite
hybrid honeycomb fails to exhibit better out-of-plane com-
pressive behavior than square honeycomb as immature
technology derives many defects at the slots. However,
compared with polymeric square honeycomb, the polymeric
hybrid honeycomb with perfect geometries show better
compressive characteristics in stiffness and strength. It de-
monstrates that hybrid designs can provide a new method for
new materials and structures providing better mechanical
properties.
4.5.2 Hierarchical designs of honeycomb topology
Hierarchical design is of efficiency to improve the me-
chanical properties of light-weight material. In general,
hierarchical designs of honeycomb topology transform solid
honeycomb walls to sandwich structures for resisting struc-
tural buckling at low densities. The interlocking method is
widely used for manufacturing hierarchical honeycomb
structures due to the step-by-step fabrication process. The
hierarchical honeycomb-lattice structures were designed and
studied [65,66]. The square, triangular and Kagome honey-
comb were fabricated by interlocking glass-fiber weaved
textile sandwich panels. The analytical models and the ex-
periments revealed the out-of-plane compressive properties
and plastic deformation mechanisms of the hierarchical
honeycomb-lattice structures. It was shown that hierarchical
design restricts rib buckling and improves the plastic mo-
ment. The compressive stress-strain curves have stable dis-
placement plateaus and high compressive strength. Larger
densification strains have also occurred in the hierarchical
honeycomb with smaller relative densities. Hence, hier-
archical honeycomb-lattice structures possess excellent en-
ergy absorption capacity and load-weight efficiency.
The hierarchical honeycomb-foam structures were pro-
posed to enhance specific out-of-plane compressive property
at low densities. The sandwich panels with PMI foam core
and glass fiber reinforced composite faces were made by hot
press molding method. Then, the hierarchical honeycomb
was assembled by interlocking sandwich panels with PMI
Sci China Tech Sci
foam core and glass fiber reinforced composite faces [67].
The hierarchical honeycomb sandwich structures were stu-
died by analytical prediction, simulation and experiments. It
was shown the out-of-plane compression property of hier-
archical honeycomb sandwich panel is higher than an
equivalent sandwich panel with a monolithic honeycomb
core. The sandwich panels with a hierarchical honeycomb-
foam core made by carbon fiber reinforced composites were
also fabricated by the interlocking method [68]. Photograph
of a sandwich panel with hierarchical honeycomb-foam core
and cross-section images of the interface of composite ply
and foam are shown in Figure 25. The out-of-plane com-
pression property and in-plane shear property of hierarchical
honeycomb with different relative densities were studied by
analytical models and experiments. Compared to the sand-
wich structures with a monolithic honeycomb core, the
specific out-of-plane compressive strength and the specific
shear strength of hierarchical honeycomb-foam sandwich
structures improves to 330% and 180%, respectively. It
provides new opportunities for light-weight sandwich
structures.
A hierarchical honeycomb-honeycomb cylindrical struc-
ture was designed to enhance energy absorption ability [69].
Sandwich panels with glass fiber reinforced composite faces
and polypropylene honeycomb core was used as honeycomb
ribs. Two types of hierarchical honeycomb-honeycomb cy-
lindrical structures were fabricated and tested under axial
compressive loadings. It was found the crushing efficiency
of the optimized cylindrical structures can be improved from
0.4 to 0.7. The optimized cylindrical structures exhibited
great deformation recovery ability, even over 80% of initial
height. Besides, good reloading and energy absorption
properties are higher than 13% and 12% of initial ones re-
spectively. It has an advantage over the conventional energy
absorbers.
4.6 Summary
The multifunctional designs of fiber-reinforced honeycomb
structures including thermal conduction, microwave ab-
sorption, sound absorption, metamaterial property and me-
chanical property improvement were discussed. There are
Figure 25 (Color online) (a) Photograph of a sandwich panel with hier-
archical honeycomb-foam core; (b) cross-section images of the interface of
composite ply and foam [68].
 Wei X Y, et al.
still many useful multifunctional designs to be developed
based on corresponding engineering applications. The po-
tential applications are summarized in the following section.
5 Applications of composite honeycomb mate-
rials
Traditional honeycomb materials using as the core of the
sandwich structure, such as aluminum honeycomb and No-
mex honeycomb, have been widely applied in spacecraft,
airplane structures, bridge decks, marine vessels, housing
constructions and carriage body, where the structural con-
structions combined with ultra-lightweight and superior
mechanical performances are extremely needed. Fiber-
reinforced composite honeycomb materials have the poten-
tial to replace the traditional ones due to their higher specific
stiffness and specific strength. However, few constructions
using composite honeycomb materials have been applied in
the industry due to high-cost fabrications. Some potential
applications of composite honeycomb materials are dis-
cussed in this section.
5.1 Bridge deck systems
The mechanical performances of bridge deck under static
and fatigue load cycles are important for structural and
personal safeties. High-performance honeycomb sandwich
structures made by fiber-reinforced composites can be used
as structural components for bridge deck systems. A bridge
using honeycomb sandwich decks was built in a deck in
O’Fallon Park, which is located west of the City of Denver
[70]. Both face sheets and honeycomb core are made by glass
fiber reinforced polymer to reduce the bridge weight. For
evaluating structural safety, the static and fatigue load tests
were carried out by a full-size, two-span fiber-reinforced
honeycomb sandwich deck. The experimental results are
much higher than the design, and absolutely satisfy structural
safety claim. Thus, fiber-reinforced composite honeycomb
sandwich structures are suited as carrying components of the
bridge deck system
5.2 Aerospace components
For large aerospace components, it is important to design
structural systems combined lightweight and high carrying
efficiency. Honeycomb sandwich cylinders made by carbon
fiber reinforced composites as a kind of ultralight structures
are widely used in aerospace structures, such as space rocket
barrels and space shuttles. A series of fiber-reinforced
sandwich cylinders with Kagome or square grids to replace
grid stiffened cylinder was fabricated by fiber-reinforced
composites [71–75]. In the axial compression test, the
Sci China Tech Sci 19
loading capacity and the stiffness of the sandwich cylinder
are 524.6 kN and 161.8 kN/mm, respectively. The mechan-
ical performance of the sandwich cylinder is several times
than the ribbed reinforced cylinder at similar dimensions and
almost the same weight. Analytical models, computational
models and experiments also systematically study the me-
chanical characteristics of the sandwich cylinders under
fundamental loads and free vibration. The researchers are
paving the way for applying fiber-reinforced sandwich cy-
linder with lightweight and high performance as aerospace
components.
5.3 Microwave absorbing structures
Apart from the mechanical properties, microwave absorbing
ability is of fundamental importance for stealthy structures.
Comparing to high-density, brittle and expensive absorbing
coatings, the cellular materials with high porosity is more
desirable for light-weight microwave absorbent structures
[76]. A combination of weight efficiency and superior mi-
crowave absorption is achieved by filling the microwave
absorbing spongy foams into the honeycomb sandwich panel
[59]. Through comparison with experimental results with the
existing data on microwave absorption, it is found that fiber-
reinforced honeycomb materials are prospective weight-
efficiency structural absorbent materials.
5.4 Satellite applications
Satellites served in space are facing the challenges of thou-
sands of thermal cycles with a large temperature difference
[77,78]. Composite sandwich structures with lightweight and
superior mechanical properties are extremely suited for load-
bearing components of satellite structures. However, the
challenge for thermal designers is knowledge of their ther-
mal properties, of which thermal deformation is crucial for
the systematic design of the satellite. Matching the equiva-
lent coefficient of thermal expansion of the sandwich skins
with the one of the core will eliminate the thermal stress
between the interlayer and increase of service life. It is a
hard-to-achieve goal to the traditional sandwich panels with
composite skins and aluminum honeycomb core because of
the different coefficients of thermal expansion of the two
materials, while it is easy to employ fiber-reinforced com-
posite honeycomb materials. The antenna of Microwave
Limb Sounder, which is the heart of the primary reflector in
the Earth Observing System’s (EOS) CHEM satellite laun-
ched by National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) in 2002, was constructed from composite honey-
comb sandwich structures [79]. Composite materials with
carbon fibers and cyanate matrix were applied for the whole
sandwich structure to reduce the accuracy error caused by
thermal expansion. Similarly, all-composite honeycomb
20 Wei X Y, et al.
sandwich structures were also employed to ultra-stable space
telescope mirrors with nm-level accuracy [80]. The thermal
expansion coefficient of the whole structure could be limited
−7 −1
to smaller than 1×10 K in a wide range of temperature.
Besides, composite matrixes with various thermal char-
acterizations can be used to guarantee the composite struc-
ture of satellite application satisfy the actual thermal
requirements.
5.5 Marine vessels
Honeycomb sandwich panels with lightweight and superior
sound-absorbing capacity are widely used in the super-
structures of marine vessels, including floorboards, cross
walls and ceilings. However, the metal material is easy to be
corroded by the humid and highly-saline sea wind [81],
especially combing with other conductive materials, such as
carbon fiber reinforced polymer, due to electrochemical
corrosion effect. The whole sandwich structure made by
fiber-reinforced composites avoid wind erosion occurred;
thus, composite honeycomb materials are ideal alternative
material.
5.6 Summary
We discuss various applications of lightweight and multi-
functional fiber-reinforced honeycomb materials as alter-
natives to traditional structures. It is found that these
materials have promising potential in every field of en-
gineering. However, there are still some opportunities to
improve the engineering practicability of fiber-reinforced
honeycomb materials. The following sections further explore
the future areas of growth.
6 Perspectives of future areas of growth for
composite honeycomb materials
6.1 Low-cost fabrication technique
The various advantages and benefits of fiber-reinforced
honeycomb sandwich structures have been introduced in this
paper. However, the high cost of manufacturing process
limits the application in commercial production. On the one
hand, intricate manual operation account for a considerable
proportion at various stages of fabrication, which increasing
labor cost. It can be solved by exploiting new fabrication
technique possessing the potential of mechanization and
automation, such as 3D printing technique and tailor-folding
technique. On the other hand, protracted curing and shaping
process of composite materials decrease production speed.
Advanced fiber-reinforced material needs to be developed
for engineering, such as fast curing prepreg or fiber-
reinforced thermoplastic composite. Therefore, combined
Sci China Tech Sci
progress in both the fabrication method and advanced ma-
terial remains a key challenge for researchers and engineers.
6.2 Nondestructive testing
Nondestructive testing plays an important role in the appli-
cation of fiber-reinforced honeycomb sandwich structure.
Initial defects such as delamination occurred in the face
sheets, core damage and debonding will emerge in the
sandwich structure due to blast wave, impact load, improper
processing or incorrect design. A catastrophic event will
happen in the structure with initial defects as a significant
reduction in load-carrying capacity. However, such defects
are extremely difficult to be observed visually or even
founded, especially meso- and micro-scopic failure, such as
fibre breakage or matrix crack damage. Unfortunately, most
of the current nondestructive testing methods are insufficient
to adequately apply to fiber-reinforced honeycomb sandwich
structures due to the lack of accuracy. Thus, better non-
destructive testing methods with high precision remains a
critical area for achieving the application of fiber-reinforced
honeycomb core.
6.3 Design for arbitrary curved surface
There are plentiful applications of honeycomb sandwich
structures with a special curved surface, such as aircraft
wing, wind turbine blade and vehicle shell [82]. The design
of traditional commercial honeycomb core with a curved
surface structure is inadequate in engineering, as weak in-
plane mechanical property and low bending stiffness. A
sandwich structure with a curved surface can be made by
bonding two curved face sheet with a flat honeycomb core,
which leads to various problems, such as excessive distortion
in honeycomb cells, high internal stress in core and de-
bonding between unmatched components. However, hon-
eycomb cores made by fiber-reinforced composites possess
steady cell shape and high stiffness, thus requiring pre-
liminary curved design in preparation. The fabrication,
characterization and mechanical properties of a serious of
sandwich cylinders with gird core made by the interlocking
method were reported [75]. Furthermore, honeycombs with
multiform shapes were made by a 3D printing method using
continuous carbon fibers [83]. Therefore, significant poten-
tial exists for using honeycomb core materials to design and
fabricate sandwich structures that can disrupt the paradigm
of future material design.
6.4 Lifetime and recycle
Fatigue properties of a sandwich structure with fiber-
reinforced honeycomb core under various loading conditions
are crucial to the safety lifetimes of vehicle, machine and
 Wei X Y, et al.
aircraft. Nevertheless, it is little investigated by researchers
due to immature fabrication technique and just emerging
development. In the meantime, how to dispose and recycle
the damaged fiber-reinforced composite materials has
aroused much concern. Comparing to non-degradable syn-
thetic fibers, natural fibers are preferred for industrial pro-
ductions because they are environmentally friendly and safe
for human beings [84]. The flexural behaviors of sandwich
composite beams with honeycomb reinforced by glass fibers
and flax fibers were investigated [85]. It was found that the
natural fiber showed a promising and comparable structural
performance with its synthetic counterparts. Besides, ther-
moplastic composites have much more potential to recycle
than thermosetting composite, thus attracting researchers.
3D-printed basalt fiber reinforced thermoplastic honey-
combs were developed [86]. Besides, compressive mechan-
ical behavior and energy absorption capacity were
investigated.
6.5 Summary
In this section, the possible future opportunities and chal-
lenges for the design, fabrication and development of fiber-
reinforced composite honeycomb materials have been briefly
outlined. The primary challenge for extending these honey-
comb materials to industrial production is high-cost fabri-
cation technique. In addition, it is guaranteed by developing
a nondestructive testing method with high precision, de-
signing for large and complicated structures, deepening the
understanding of the structural safety lifetime and recycling
by environmental protection method. All of these need to
require the tireless efforts and continuous explorations of
researchers.
7 Conclusions
Fiber-reinforced composite honeycomb materials as a valu-
able research project have drawn greater attention in recent
years. In this paper, the fabrication, mechanical properties,
promising applications and predicted perspectives were
summarized. We analyzed all of the published fabrication
techniques, including hot press molding method, vacuum-
assisted resin transfer molding method, interlocking method,
3D printing method and tailor-folding method. Besides, the
mechanical properties and multifunctional designs of the
structures fabricated by corresponding methods were also
reviewed. Composite honeycomb materials with high per-
formance as a core of sandwich structures will be useful for
future engineering components, such as hypersonic vehicles,
long-range rockets, cargo vessel and protective systems. This
paper provides an overview of new advances in fiber-
reinforced composite honeycomb materials, and will be
Sci China Tech Sci 21
meaningful for mechanical, structural and material scientists
and engineers devoting to this kind of ultralight and robust
materials.
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of
China (Grant No. 11572100), Program for Outstanding Young Scholars in
Harbin Institute of Technology, Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang
Province (Grant No. YQ2019A003), the Science and Technology on Ad-
vanced Composites in Special Environment Laboratory and Young Elite
Scientist Sponsorship Program by China Association of Science and Tech-
nology (Grant No. YESS20160190).
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