Prestressed honeycomb method and apparatus therefor

A honeycomb core including a plurality of abutting partition walls and opposed hollow-cell faces defining planar surfaces, at least some of the partition walls being air-permeable to allow the flow of air therethrough when the core is compressively deformed.

A resilient prestressed honeycomb structure comprising a honeycomb core having a plurality of abutting partition walls forming opposed hollow-cell faces defining planar surfaces and a face sheet secured to one of the planar surfaces, said partition walls or said face sheet being air-permeable, at least one of said hollow-cell faces has been compressively deformed laterally along its planar surface to a predetermined depth to provide a substantially continuous cushioned face portion such that said cushioned face portion is sufficiently resilient to cushion substantially all surfaces of a body in contact therewith substantially uniformly, when said one of said hollow-cell faces is compressively deformed said air-permeable partition walls or said air-permeable face sheet allowing a flow of air therethrough.