Architected tunable twist-compression coupling metastructures based on a generative parametric design for energy absorption and effective mechanical properties

Architected metamaterials are known as materials with unique mechanical and topological behavior. This paper presents architected twist-compression metamaterials, which twist around their axis under compression, for energy absorption and effective mechanical properties. The proposed metastrcutures are designed through novel generative algorithms that enable the parametric design in which the geometrical parameters of the produced metastructures are tunable. Several experimental tests were carried out to determine accurate material properties for the finite element analysis and to evaluate the capability of the presented metastructures. Specimens printed from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) using fused deposition modeling techniques (FDM). To evaluate the effect of geometrical parameters on the properties of the twist-compression metastructures a four-step parametric study was conducted by virtue of the verified finite element models. These finite element models contain damage criteria to model the failure behavior of the metastrucutures under quasi-static loading. The influencing geometrical parameters on the mechanical properties, as well as energy absorption capacity, have been considered via numerical and experimental analysis. Obtained results showed some unique features of these structures in elastic and plastic behaviors.