Plugged honeycomb structure and plugged honeycomb segment

A plugged honeycomb structure, comprising:

• a plurality of prismatic-columnar shaped honeycomb segments, each having porous partition walls that define a plurality of cells extending from an inflow end face to which a fluid flows to an outflow end face from which a fluid flows, and a segment circumferential wall disposed at an outermost circumference of each of the honeycomb segments;
• a bonding layer to bond the side surfaces of the plurality of honeycomb segments;
• and
• plugging portions disposed in open ends of predetermined cells in the inflow end face of each of the honeycomb segments and in open ends of residual cells in the outflow end face of each of the honeycomb segments, wherein
• each of the honeycomb segments is configured so that the cells having at least two kinds of different shapes are disposed in a cross section orthogonal to an extension direction of the cells,
• each of the honeycomb segments has a center region including a center of the cross section orthogonal to the extension direction of the cells and a circumferential region located on the side of the circumference of the center region,
• the center region of each of the honeycomb segments has a repeated pattern of repeating units including a cell arrangement in which inflow cells in which the plugging portions are disposed in open ends of the cells in the outflow end face surround one outflow cell in which the plugging portions are disposed in open ends of the cell in the inflow end face and the inflow cells are substantially the same size,
• in the inflow end face of at least one of the honeycomb segments, the circumferential region is configured to have an open frontal area that is larger than an open frontal area of the center region,
• a thickness of the segment circumferential wall of each of the honeycomb segments is from 0.3 to 1.0 mm, and
• a thickness of the bonding layer is from 0.5 to 1.5 mm.