Quasi-Static Penetration Resistance of Bio-Inspired Helicoidal Honeycomb Sandwich Panels: Experiments, Simulations, and Damage Mechanisms

Bio-inspired helicoidal laminates can redirect damage under transverse loading, but their response as sandwich face sheets remains unclear because the core changes both deformation and load transfer. This study experimentally and numerically investigated the quasi-static penetration of 73-ply carbon/epoxy laminates and Nomex honeycomb sandwich panels with cross-ply, quasi-isotropic, uniform helicoidal (5°, 10°, and 20°), and hybrid helicoidal layups. A fully ply-resolved model was developed for the monolithic laminates, whereas an eight-sublaminate model with an explicitly represented honeycomb core was used for the sandwich panels. H73(10–5) achieved the highest monolithic-laminate peak load of 5.23 kN, 46.1% above CP73 and 35.5% above QI73. The sandwich panels exhibited two load peaks separated by a core-crushing plateau. S-H73(5–10) produced the highest first peak load of 8.99 kN, while S-H73(10–5) achieved the highest penetration energy of 108.37 J. Experiments, simulations, and fractographic observations showed that the intact core constrained upper-face-sheet bending and promoted localized indentation-assisted punching-shear perforation. The crushed core subsequently transferred load to the lower face sheet, which failed through bending- and membrane-dominated tearing.