| dc.description.abstract | Numerical modelling is particularly advantageous for analysing structures with complex behaviour. It is used to
predict the mechanical properties of structures. Analytical modelling, on the contrary, has limited capacity for
predicting the behaviour, particularly of structures, because it is based on mathematical equations that do not
always exactly represent the geometry of the model. In such cases, numerical modelling is used for predicting
structural bending, axial deformation, and buckling behaviour. This study documents numerical modelling of
different types of polygon structures. To reduce computation costs, planar and extruded Ti6Al4V(ELI) hexagonal
shell structures were used to predict stresses in the out-of-plane and in-plane directions. This was followed by
numerical modelling of different types of planar polygon structures to predict their load-bearing capacity and
stiffness. Thereafter, the hexagonal polygon was subjected to out-of-plane and in-plane uniaxial compression
loads. This was done to compare the bending and buckling behaviour of finite element (FE) models to analytical
models. The numerical and analytical results were then compared to determine how the ratio (t/L) of the wall
thickness (t) and length of the polygon members (L) influenced the effective stiffness of the hexagonal polygon.
The triangular polygon was seen to have the greatest load-bearing capacity and stiffness of all polygons that were
modelled. The hexagonal model was observed to generate deformations due to compression, similar to those
reported in literature. The critical buckling loads for the analytical honeycomb (HC) models were found to be
below the yield stress for (1-, 1.125-, and 1.25-mm wall thicknesses) and above the yield stress for all FE HC
models, respectively. The effective stiffness of the HC models were observed to increase with the increasing (t/L)
ratio, for both the numerical and analytical models. | en_US |
