journal article·2025-05-14Open access

On the Design of Bionic Hierarchical H-Type Whip Restraints for Nuclear Power Plants

Zheng He, Yuhang Yang, Libang Hu, Shuitao Gu

Applied Sciences· Volume 15· Issue 10

Abstract

Whip restraints based on thin-walled structures are widely used for protection against high-energy pipe breaks in nuclear power plants due to their excellent impact resistance. Recently, biomimetic and hierarchical structures have emerged as focal points in thin-walled structure research, aimed at enhancing energy absorption capacities. Drawing inspiration from the nautilus shell and Fibonacci spiral, based on the nautilus bionic hierarchical multi-cell (NBHMC) structure, this study introduces a novel Nautilus Bionic Double Hierarchical Multi-Cell (NBDHMC) structure. Finite element analysis was employed to evaluate the energy absorption performance of the structure under axial and oblique loads using four crashworthiness parameters. Crashworthiness studies showed that the NBDHMC exhibits superior crashworthiness compared to the NBHMC and hollow circular tube configurations. Finally, the study investigated the influence of combination modes, hierarchical levels, cross-sectional characteristics, and other parameters on the parameterization of the NBDHMC. The results offer innovative insights for the design of highly efficient energy absorbers.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Cellular and Composite Structures · Automotive and Human Injury Biomechanics · High-Velocity Impact and Material Behavior

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Chinergy Co., Ltd., Beijing 100084, China

School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China

College of Engineering and Technology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China

Funding

Young Excellence Programme of China National Nuclear Corporation

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