The orthogonal experimental results of 9 different combinations of structural geometric parameters were shown in Table 1. The size effect of honeycomb sandwich structure on three indexes of peak stress, axial displacement, and AP displacement could be obtained.
Table 1
Result of the orthogonal experiment
No. | Factors | | Results |
A | B | C | D | | peak stress (MPa) | axial displacement (mm) | AP displacement (mm) |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 1.354 | 0.0150 | 0.0017 |
2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | | 3.407 | 0.0418 | 0.0071 |
3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | | 6.692 | 0.1065 | 0.0177 |
4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | | 3.511 | 0.0443 | 0.0072 |
5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | | 5.979 | 0.0833 | 0.0191 |
6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | | 1.160 | 0.0209 | 0.0023 |
7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | | 6.165 | 0.0827 | 0.0198 |
8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | | 1.243 | 0.0213 | 0.0018 |
9 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | | 2.881 | 0.0285 | 0.0049 |
Taking the peak stress, axial displacement and AP displacement of the structure as indexes, the average value of the experimental results at each level was calculated, which was recorded as K. The optimal level of each factor was judged according to the value of K, and the optimal level of each factor was taken as the structural combination parameter. The difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of K was calculated respectively, which was recorded as the range R. According to the size of R, the order of the influence of each factor on the index was judged [15]. The range analysis of orthogonal experiment results was shown in Table 2. The size effect of honeycomb sandwich structure was analyzed. According to the minimum requirements of each indicator, the optimal structural combination parameters were selected.
Table 2
Range analysis of the orthogonal experiment
| peak stress (MPa) | axial displacement (mm) | AP displacement (mm) |
A | B | C | D | A | B | C | D | A | B | C | D |
K1 | 3.818 | 3.677 | 1.253 | 3.405 | 0.0544 | 0.0473 | 0.0190 | 0.0422 | 0.0088 | 0.0095 | 0.0019 | 0.0085 |
K2 | 3.551 | 3.544 | 3.267 | 3.578 | 0.0628 | 0.0488 | 0.0382 | 0.0484 | 0.0095 | 0.0093 | 0.0064 | 0.0097 |
K3 | 3.343 | 3.579 | 6.279 | 3.816 | 0.0441 | 0.0519 | 0.0908 | 0.0573 | 0.0088 | 0.0082 | 0.0188 | 0.0088 |
R | 0.475 | 0.134 | 5.026 | 0.411 | 0.0186 | 0.0046 | 0.0717 | 0.0151 | 0.0006 | 0.0012 | 0.0169 | 0.0011 |
It could be seen from Table 2 that for the peak stress index, the K3 value of the factor A was less than other values, which indicates that when the factor A was at level3, the peak stress was lower than other levels; similarly, the K2 value of the factor B was close to K3, less than other value; for the factor C and D, the K1 value was the minimum, so the level 1 was taken as the optimal level. Considering the peak stress, the optimal geometric parameters combination of the honeycomb sandwich structure was A3 B2/3 C1 D1. For the range R, it could be seen that RC > RA > RD > RB, that was, the factors affecting the peak stress from the primary to the secondary order: were the cell side length, face sheets thickness, honeycomb height, and honeycomb wall thickness.
Similarly, for the axial displacement index, the optimal geometric parameters combination was A3 B1/2 C1 D1. For the range R, it could be seen that RC > RA > RD > RB, that was, the factors affecting the axial displacement index from the primary to the secondary order were cell side length, face sheets thickness, honeycomb height, and honeycomb wall thickness. For the AP displacement index, the optimal geometric parameters combination was A1/3 B3 C1 D1. For the range R, it could be seen that RC > RB > RD > RA, that was, the factors affecting the AP displacement index from the primary to the secondary order were cell side length, honeycomb wall thickness, honeycomb height, and face sheets thickness.
Based on the above analysis, for three indexes of peak stress, axial displacement, and anterior-posterior (AP) displacement, the optimal value the factor A, C, and D were all A3 C1 D1, but the optimal level of the factor B was inconsistent. Therefore, when the other three factors were selected as the optimal level combination, the single-factor five-level test analysis of factor B was conducted. The results were shown in Table 3.
Table 3
Single factor five level test results of bee wall thickness
factor B | Indexes |
peak stress (MPa) | Axial displacement (mm) | AP displacement (mm) |
0.28 | 1.246 | 0.0143 | 0.0015 |
0.385 | 1.260 | 0.0138 | 0.0017 |
0.49 | 1.141 | 0.0135 | 0.0018 |
0.595 | 1.246 | 0.0133 | 0.0020 |
0.7 | 1.238 | 0.0131 | 0.0022 |
It could be seen from Table 3 that when the other three factors were the optimal combination, the peak stress reached the minimum as the bee wall thickness was 0.49 mm. With the increase of honeycomb wall thickness, the axial displacement values decreased, and the AP displacement values increased. Considering the three indexes, the wall thickness of 0.49 mm was selected as the optimal value. Through the above analysis, it could be concluded that the optimal parameter combination of honeycomb sandwich structure was A3 B2 C1 D1. The optimal combination of structural geometric parameters of honeycomb sandwich structure was determined as follows: face sheets thickness, honeycomb wall thickness, cell side length and honeycomb height were 1 mm, 0.49 mm, 1 mm and 6 mm respectively. The stress distribution diagram of honeycomb sandwich structure under compression was shown in Fig. 1. The peak stress was 1.141 MPa, and calculate the deformation according to the formula 1. The axial deformation was 0.168%, and the AP deformation was 0.025%.

Further, the honeycomb sandwich structure was locally optimized, and the structure of the surrounding edge area lacking support was supplemented. After loading the same load, the stress distribution diagram was shown in Fig. 2.
It could be found from Fig. 2 that after local optimization of the honeycomb sandwich structure, the internal stress distribution was uniform, the maximum peak stress was 1.041 MPa, which was lower than before the structure. It indicated that the peak stress of the structure was reduced through local optimization. The peak position occurred on the edge of the lower face sheet. And the overall axial deformation was 0.111%, and the AP deformation was 0.014%, which were both less than that before the optimization, it showed that the deformation degree of the honeycomb sandwich structure decreased after local optimization. The large deformation and stress concentration can be effectively avoided through local optimization, and the safety of the implant is ensured. Finally, the honeycomb sandwich structure vertebral implant with stable structure and high mechanical performance is designed.