Multistable tensegrity-like chains for lattice metamaterials: experimental and numerical investigation
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The peculiar mechanical behaviour of multistable structures and the significant recent advances in additive manufacturing techniques have attracted particular interest in multistable architected metamaterials that present opportunities for unprecedented, highly tunable devices and machines [1]. A unique class of multistable metamaterials is that of tensegrity-like metamaterials whose units are designed as tensegrity structures but involve no prestressed elements, overcoming the difficulties in their traditional fabrication and assembling methods [2]. This work presents an experimental and numerical investigation on tensegrity-like lattice chains accomplishing a multistable behaviour. Starting from the classical triangular tensegrity prism and using stereolithography technology, a double tensegrity-like unit was designed and fabricated monolithically as a compliant mechanism. Then, tensegrity-like units are composed to form multistable chain-like assemblies, whose response can be modelled as a chain of bistable springs by resorting to known analytical methods [3]. By exploiting the chirality of the units, different chains are fabricated and tested. A predictive semi-analytical model is derived to reconstruct the energy landscape and capacity curve of the whole chain. The results show that the presented chains may constitute a flexible platform for programmable materials for different potential applications, such as reconfigurable robotic articulations or mechanical memory storage devices. REFERENCES [1] S.H. Kang, J.R. Raney, P. Wang, L. Fang, F. Candido, J.A. Lewis and K. Bertoldi, Multistable architected materials for trapping elastic strain energy. Adv. Funct. Mater., Vol. 27, pp. 4296–4301, 2015. [2] C. Intrigila, A. Micheletti, N. A. Nodargi. E. Artioli and P. Bisegna, Fabrication and experimental characterisation of a bistable tensegrity-like unit for lattice metamaterials. Addit. Manuf., Vol. 57, 102946, 2022. [3] G. Puglisi and L. Truskinovsky, Mechanics of a discrete chain with bi-stable elements. J. Mech. Phys. Solids, Vol. 48, pp. 1–27, 2000.