Experimental Study of Mechanical and Impact Behavior of Novel Fiber‐Reinforced Honeycomb Composites

ABSTRACT

In this study, composite honeycomb structures were fabricated using unsaturated polyester resin reinforced with carbon and glass fibers. Honeycomb structures are widely used in lightweight engineering applications due to their high strength‐to‐weight ratio and excellent energy absorption capability. The main objective of this research was to investigate the effect of reinforcement fiber type and architecture on the mechanical behavior of composite honeycomb structures under different loading conditions. Specimens with identical geometries and different reinforcement configurations were manufactured using a controlled molding process. Compressive, flexural, and impact tests were carried out to evaluate the structural performance of the samples. The results indicated that carbon woven reinforced honeycomb structures exhibited the highest mechanical performance, achieving maximum compressive and flexural failure forces of approximately 6090 and 1517 N, respectively. Glass woven reinforced samples showed greater deformation capability and more progressive energy absorption, particularly under impact loading. In contrast, chopped‐strand reinforced structures demonstrated reduced load‐carrying capacity due to fiber discontinuity. Overall, woven reinforcement architectures provided superior strength, structural stability, and impact resistance. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to investigate fracture surfaces and failure mechanisms.