Pneumatically controlled lattices with tunable mechanical behavior

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Mechanical Engineering
• Structural Engineering

Background:

• Lattice structures are susceptible to buckling, a failure mode limiting their applications.
• Buckling tendency in struts correlates with local nodal connectivity.
• Current methods for enhancing lattice performance are often topology-specific.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a pneumatic actuation strategy for actively tuning lattice structure mechanical behavior.
• To demonstrate reconfigurable nodal connectivity for modulating stiffness and buckling response.
• To enhance structural performance under static and dynamic loading conditions.

Main Methods:

• Embedding pneumatic actuators within lattice structures.
• Selectively inflating actuators into spatial patterns to alter nodal connectivity.
• Applying varying air pressure signals to tune post-buckling behavior.

Main Results:

• Achieved a 121.6% improvement in buckling strength with reinforced pneumatic patterns.
• Demonstrated programmable tuning of post-buckling behavior via air pressure control.
• Reduced peak acceleration by 50.9% for enhanced impact mitigation.

Conclusions:

• Pneumatic actuation offers a versatile method to enhance lattice structure performance.
• The strategy is broadly applicable across various lattice architectures.
• This approach improves structural integrity and impact resistance without material constraints.