SIAR Congress, CAR 2026

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Optimization of additively manufactured PET-G based structures with honeycomb-like topologies for automotive crashworthiness applications
Dana Luca Motoc, Bogdan Ioan Nituleasa, Stefan Colessa

Last modified: 2026-04-30

Abstract


Lightweight design and crashworthiness remain central challenges in modern automotive engineering. In this context, the present study explores the impact-energy absorption capability of additively manufactured PET-G structures with a honeycomb-like internal topology under drop-weight loading. Representative specimens were fabricated with different infill densities (15%, 25%, 50%, and 75%) and heights (15, 20, and 25 mm) in order to evaluate the influence of structural configuration on crashworthiness-related performance. The analysis considered several crashworthiness-related indicators, including absorbed energy, specific energy absorption, energy absorption efficiency, peak force, mass-normalized performance, etc. The results show that the impact response is strongly influenced by structural configuration, with infill density and specimen height governing deformation behavior and energy dissipation capacity. A multi-criteria evaluation was employed for identifying lightweight PET-G configurations capable of achieving an effective balance between mass reduction and crashworthiness performance. These results encourage the further integration of additively manufactured thermoplastic structures into automotive energy-absorbing components intended to protect both passengers and vehicle subsystems.