Parameters analysis and optimization of a typical multistable mechanical metamaterial

Abstract

In this work, mechanical properties of a typical multistable mechanical metamaterial were analyzed in detail. When the maximum strain of the structure was kept constant during deflection, it was found that the largest peak force and best energy absorption efficiency can be obtained by adjusting its geometrical parameters. The influence of parameters on the force–displacement curve of the unit cell under large deformation is also discussed. Moreover, to further verify the conclusions from theoretical and finite element analysis (FEA), we experimentally investigated the mechanical performances of two different multilayer structures fabricated by a high-resolution 3D printer It is noteworthy that both the FEA and experiments reveal the structure with Q=3.6 has significantly better performance than the structure with Q=6 both in terms of the properties of vibration isolation and energy absorption. The remarkable result of this work shows its potential in choosing the layouts of multistable mechanical metamaterials.