Experimental Study on the Quasi-Static Biaxial Compressive Behavior of Miura-Ori Metamaterials

This study investigates the quasi-static equalbiaxial compression behavior of 3D-printed Miura-ori metamaterials incorporating both out-of-plane and in-plane gradient configurations. The Miura-ori structure, composed of tessellated parallelogram units, exhibits pronounced anisotropic behavior due to its unique folding geometry. To assess this behavior, specimens were fabricated using ABS resin and subjected to equalbiaxial compression in three orthogonal directions: the xy-direction (in-plane compression), the yz-direction (edge-on side loading), and the xz-direction (accordion-like profile loading). In the out-of-plane gradient design, the acute angle ϕ was varied across layers, significantly influencing both yield stress and specific energy absorption (SEA). Compared with the uniform design, gradient configurations exhibited reduced mechanical performance in the xy-direction and yz-direction, and enhanced properties in the xz-direction. In addition, in-plane (x-direction) gradient structures were evaluated under xy-, yz- and xz- direction compression. The results indicate that gradient configuration specimens exhibit significantly lower yield stress and specific energy absorption than uniform structure specimens, with deformation initiating preferentially in regions with smaller acute angles and lower local stiffness. The results highlight the strong influence of geometric gradation and loading direction on the mechanical performance of Miura-ori metamaterials. This work provides new insights into the design and optimization of origami-inspired energy-absorbing structures for use in advanced mechanical, aerospace, and protective engineering applications.