Investigation of mechanical response characteristics of 3D-printed composite energetic material with advanced grid structures

To investigate the mechanical response characteristics of composite energetic material with advanced grid structures based on 3D printing, energetic plates with honeycomb advanced grid stiffened (AGS) structures of different geometric parameters were 3D printed and tensile tests and three-point bending tests were conducted. The results demonstrate that the introduction of honeycomb advanced grid structures significantly enhanced the mechanical properties of the plates. In tensile tests, the maximum load of the H3D4 honeycomb-stiffened plate increased from 441.5 N to 1087.88 N compared to the unstiffened plate, an improvement of 146.4%; in bending tests, the maximum load of H3D4 increased from 19.45 N to 37.48 N, an enhancement of 92.7%. Moreover, the load-bearing capacity of honeycomb stiffened plates significantly increased with decreasing honeycomb inner diameter and increasing height, exhibiting a clear structure-property correlation. The H3D4 honeycomb stiffened plate demonstrated optimal mechanical performance, with tensile load improved by 44.7% and bending load enhanced by 81.8% compared to H1D8 honeycomb stiffened plate. The honeycomb advanced grid structures achieved significant enhancement of plate mechanical properties by increasing load transfer paths, optimizing stress distribution, and improving structural stiffness. 3D-printed honeycomb advanced grid-stiffened (AGS) plates were tested in tension and three-point bending and analyzed via LS-DYNA. AGS markedly enhances performance. Smaller cell diameter and greater height yield higher capacity. Mechanistically, dense cell walls create multiple load paths, redistribute stress, constrain lateral deformation, and raise stiffness. (1) 3D-printed honeycomb AGS plates for composite energetic components. (2) Peak loads improved vs. unstiffened: +137.8% (tension), +92.7% (bending). (3) Dense cell walls create multiple load paths, redistributing stress and delaying failure.