Metamaterial design strategy for mechanical energy absorption under general loading

This article proposes a design strategy for two-dimensional, multi-stable cellular materials which leverages local rotational degrees of freedom in support of mechanical energy absorption under general loading. The approach aligns the rotation centers of two layers of identical patterning but opposite chirality such that the relative angular displacement accompanying any in-plane deformation facilitates local snap-through events which contribute to the global mechanical energy absorption performance. The rotation symmetry of the underlying (quasi-)crystalline layers governs the directionality of the energy absorption capacity. Moreover, cellular materials emerging from the proposed strategy possess an absorption capability for all loading modes - tension, compression, and shear. Simulations reveal the energy absorption capacity and the directionality thereof for several cellular bi-layers as well as the impact of key tuning parameters. The cellular materials constructed following the proposed design strategy fill the need for omni-directional, multi-modal energy absorption in a low-density, tunable, and re-usable platform. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This article presents a design strategy for two-dimensional, multi-stable cellular materials that utilizes local rotational degrees of freedom to support mechanical energy absorption under general loading. The cellular materials constructed following this strategy possess an absorption capability for all loading modes - tension, compression, and shear, filling the need for omni-directional, multi-modal energy absorption in a low-density, tunable, and re-usable platform.