High Robustness and Multistability of Small Mesoscale Continuous GFRP Metamaterials: Novel Möbius Strip Structure

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Mechanical Engineering
• Composite Materials

Background:

• Fiber-reinforced polymer composite metamaterials offer high strength-to-weight ratios for structural applications.
• Concurrent high stiffness, strength, and recoverable strain are challenging due to property trade-offs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel Möbius-inspired composite metamaterial overcoming property trade-offs.
• To enhance stiffness, strength, and recoverable strain simultaneously.
• To achieve multifunctional capabilities in composite metamaterials.

Main Methods:

• Optimized fiber orientation design for a Möbius-inspired metamaterial.
• Comparison with conventional fully composite metastructures.
• Analysis of unique bending-twisting deformations and fiber-matrix interactions.

Main Results:

• Achieved a 67% reduction in unit cell size with comparable stiffness and enhanced recoverable strain.
• Demonstrated effective low-frequency sound insulation.
• Exhibited reconfigurable adaptability and secondary deformability.
• Enabled programmable Poisson's ratio (-0.4 to +0.6) and mechanical switching behavior.

Conclusions:

• The Möbius-inspired design overcomes inherent trade-offs in composite metamaterials.
• Synergistic fiber-matrix interactions and Möbius geometry enable superior energy storage and tunable properties.
• This approach provides a fundamental mechanism for high-performance, adaptive structural engineering.