Multimaterial Lattice Structures With Thermally Programmable Mechanical Behaviors

Abstract

Traditional lattice structures usually maintain their mechanical properties throughout their lifetime. Designing and manufacturing intelligent materials with environmental adaptability, programmatically sense and respond to external changes (such as light, pressure, solution, temperature, electromagnetic field, electrochemical reaction), and shape transformation, mode conversion and performance regulation with spatial and temporal modulation are still important scientific challenges in the field of artificial materials. In this paper, multimaterial lattice structures with thermally programmable mechanical response were proposed by using polymer materials with disparate glass transition temperatures and temperature dependencies and reasonably designing the spatial distribution of the materials. Combined with theoretical analysis and finite element simulation, the effects of the relative stiffness of constitute materials on Poisson's ratio, deformation mode and structural stability of the multimaterial lattice structures were studied. The elastic constants, crushing response and structural stability of multimaterial lattice structures are regulated by temperature control, which makes the multimaterial lattice structures show giant thermal deformation, hyperelasticity and shape memory effects. This paper opens up new avenues for the design and manufacture of adaptive protection equipment, biomedical devices, aerospace morphing structures, flexible electronic devices, self-assembly structures and reconfigurable soft robots.