Bi-material sinusoidal beam-based temperature responsive multistable metamaterials

Abstract

The ability of materials to adapt to changing environments is attractive for various applications, ranging from deployable structures to soft robots. In this work, we develop a multistable metamaterial that allows for autonomous recovery and programmable deformation in response to varying temperatures. The tunable multi-stability is achieved by incorporating a bi-material sinusoidal beam as the constituent element of the metamaterial. The mechanical response of the bi-material beam is explored theoretically. A phase diagram of its temperature induced bistability-to-monostability transition is obtained, validated by experiments and finite element simulations. With the phase diagram, the bi-material beam based building blocks of the metamaterial can be designed to transit from one stable state to another one via snap-through after compression, and return to its first stable configuration when the temperature rises above a critical temperature. Numerical and experimental results show clearly from the force–displacement-temperature path that the developed metamaterial possesses temperature-induced recoverability and programmable deformation. Construction of bi-material sinusoidal beams with more triggering temperatures for stability transition is also discussed.