Self-contact snapping metamaterial for tensile energy dissipation

Mechanical metamaterials for energy dissipation have received significant attention for vibration and impact mitigation. However, existing designs often neglect energy dissipation in the tensile direction, which is crucial for attenuating tensile load and controlling falling descent. Importantly, current energy-dissipating mechanisms including plastic deformation and friction mechanisms, suffer from drawbacks such as reversibility and self-recovery, restricting their effectiveness under tension. To address these limitations, we propose a novel mechanism utilizing self-contact snap-through buckling to develop an energy-dissipating metamaterial. Unlike previous metamaterials, the self-contact snapping metamaterial (SCSM) achieves tensile energy dissipation with fewer unit cells while exhibiting reusability, self-recovery, and low reliance on material selection. A theoretical model is established to explain its energy-dissipating mechanism from the perspective of buckling mode transition. Moreover, the proposed SCSM exhibits sequential snapping behavior and effectively mitigates tensile impacts, as demonstrated through quasi-static and dynamic tests. This work opens new avenues for achieving tensile energy dissipation and inspires future research on energy conversion employing self-contact interactions.