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A reprogrammable mechanical metamaterial with stable memory
Tian Chen1,2, Mark Pauly3, Pedro M Reis4
1Flexible Structures Laboratory, Institute of Mechanical Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Nature
|January 21, 2021
Summary
This study introduces a novel mechanical metamaterial with unit-cell memory, enabling real-time reprogramming of properties. This design allows for digital-like control over stiffness and strength in engineered materials.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Mechanical Engineering
- Physics
Background:
- Metamaterials derive exotic properties from structural design.
- Traditional mechanical metamaterials have fixed, pre-programmed functionalities.
- Existing tuning methods lack real-time mechanical reprogrammability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a tileable mechanical metamaterial with stable, unit-cell level memory.
- To achieve on-demand, digital-like reprogrammability of mechanical properties.
- To demonstrate a new design paradigm for advanced mechanical metamaterials.
Main Methods:
- Designed a metamaterial with physical binary elements (m-bits).
- Utilized magnetic actuation to switch m-bits between two stable states.
- Demonstrated reversible elastic cycling and reprogramming of the metamaterial array.
Main Results:
- Achieved stable memory at the unit-cell level with distinct mechanical responses for each state.
- Showcased independent and reversible switching of m-bits.
- Demonstrated that encoded binary instructions can alter stiffness and strength by an order of magnitude.
Conclusions:
- The developed mechanical metamaterial offers stable memory and on-demand reprogrammability.
- This design framework enables dynamic control over material properties.
- Paves the way for advanced, reconfigurable mechanical metamaterials.
