Ceramic honeycomb structure for accommodating compression and tension forces

Claim 1

A CERAMIC COMPOSITE WITH A MULTIPLICITY OF PARALLEL CELLS IN A HONEYCOMB TYPE OF STRUCTURE WHICH CAN DEFORM TO ACCOMMODATE COMPRESSION AND TENSILE FORCES FROM NON-UNIFORM TEMPERATURE CONDITIONS, WHICH COMPRISES, HAVING ALL INTERCONNECTING WALLS BETWEEN JUNCTURE LINES OF THE WALLS AND BETWEEN ADJACENT CELLS BEING CURVED AND ORIENTED ON TO ANOTHER IN A REOCCURING SYMMETRICAL PATTERN, EACH OF SAID PARALLEL CELLS BEING FORMED AND DEFINED BY TWO SETS OF OPPOSING CURVED WALLS, AND WITH ONE SET OF WALLS GENERALLY NORMAL TO THE OTHER IN THE OVERALL PATTERN AND AT THE JUNCTURES, SAID WALLS FOR ANY ONE CELL BEING SUCH THAT ONE SET OF OPPOSING WALLS WILL BOW TOWARDS ONE OTHER AND THE OTHER SET WILL BOW AWAY FROM ONE ANOTHER TO FORM A NECKED-IN AND DUMB-BELL FORM OF CROSS-SECTIONAL CONFIGURATION, AND ALL CELLS HAVING A COMMON WALL WITH AN ADJACENT CELL WILL BE OF THE SAME CONFIGURATION AS SUCH CELL EXCEPT THAT IT WILL BE IN AN ORIENTATION OF 90* WITH RESPECT THERETO, WHEREBY EXPANSION MOVEMENTS IN DIRECTIONS TRANSVERSE TO THE LENGTH OF THE LONGTUDINAL CELL THAT ARE DUE TO DIFFERENTIAL TEMPERATURE CONDITIONS CAN CAUSE DEFORMATION AND STRAIGHTENING OF ONE SET OF OPPOSING CURVED WALLS WITHOUT CAUSING JUNCTURE LINES BETWEEN CELLS TO TEND TO MOVE CLOSER TOGETHER IN A DIRECTION GENERALLY TRANSVERSE TO THE WALLS BEING STRAIGHTENED AND TO THEREBY PROVIDE A LESS FRAGILE STRUCTURE.