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Disordered mechanical metamaterials

Nature Reviews Physics volume 5, pages 679–688 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

Mechanical metamaterials are a class of artificial materials whose geometry is engineered to have peculiar mechanical properties or programmed responses that are difficult to find in conventional materials. Typically, metamaterials are periodic, but incorporating disorder into their design can provide improved functionalities over ordered structures. In this Perspective article, we use examples of biological materials with disordered structures to elucidate how disorder can enhance the mechanical performance of engineered mechanical metamaterials. We clarify opportunities and pitfalls posed by randomness, highlight the increasingly prominent role played by disorder in novel design strategies for mechanical metamaterials and discuss recently developed algorithmic and data-driven strategies for the design of disordered optimized metamaterials.

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Fig. 1: Disordered structures in biology.
Fig. 2: Role of disorder in the density scaling of metamaterials.
Fig. 3: Mechanical failure of disordered and hierarchical metamaterials.
Fig. 4: Continuous and discrete disordered metamaterials.
Fig. 5: Computational strategies for disordered metamaterials design.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge support from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) under grant no. ZA171/14-1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Materials Simulation, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Fürth, Germany

    Michael Zaiser

  2. Department of Physics ‘Aldo Pontremoli’, Center for Complexity and Biosystems, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Stefano Zapperi

  3. CNR — Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Chimica della Materia Condensata e di Tecnologie per l’Energia, Milan, Italy

    Stefano Zapperi

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Nature Reviews Physics thanks Corentin Coulais, Lisa Manning and Xin Ren for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Glossary

Auxetic behaviour

Lateral compression in response to longitudinal compression or lateral extension in response to longitudinal extension.

Compaction bands

Narrow regions with increased material density.

Embryonic shear band

A narrow region of shear strain localization anticipating the formation of a shear band.

Meta-precipitates

A localized portion of a metamaterial with a lattice structure different from the main lattice structure.

Process zone

The area close to the crack tip where linear elastic behaviour breaks down.

Soft modes

A deformation associated with zero force.

Tensegrity structures

Structures consisting of pre-strained members, some loaded in pure compression and others in pure tension, such that this distinction is maintained under external loading.

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Zaiser, M., Zapperi, S. Disordered mechanical metamaterials. Nat Rev Phys 5, 679–688 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-023-00639-3

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