T. Frenzel, C. Findeisen, M. Kadic, P. Gumbsch, and M. Wegener

Adv. Mater. (2016); doi:10.1002/adma.201600610

Abstract:

Structures and materials absorbing mechanical (shock) energy commonly exploit either viscoelasticity or destructive modifications. Based on a class of uniaxial light-weight geometrically nonlinear mechanical microlattices and using buckling of inner elements, either a sequence of snap-ins followed by irreversible hysteretic – yet repeatable – self-recovery or multistability is achieved, enabling programmable behavior. Proof-of-principle experiments on three-dimensional polymer microstructures are presented.