Symmetric and asymmetric deformation transition in the regularly cell-structured materials. Part II: Theoretical study

Symmetric and asymmetric deformation behavior is theoretically analyzed for regularly cell-structured materials. On the basis of the elasto-plastic formulation by the finite element method, the computational model is constructed in order to understand the effect of various parameters on the deformation mode transition. Symmetric deformation changes itself to asymmetric deformation when increasing the nominal compressive strain. Effects of the relative density, the contact length, and the adhesive bonding on this mode transition are investigated under quasi-static in-plane compression. Besides the relative density, the contact length to thickness ratio (r(c)/t) plays an important role on the symmetric-asymmetric deformation transition. The intercell stress transfer also has an influence on the stability of the cell-structure during crushing. The theoretical prediction is compared with the experimental results in (Part 1) to quantitatively discuss the compressive deformation of regularly cell-structured materials. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.