Researchers design 3D kirigami building blocks to make dynamic
metamaterials

Date:
August 9, 2021
Source:
North Carolina State University
Summary:
A new approach to producing metamaterials draws on kirigami
techniques to make three-dimensional, reconfigurable building blocks
that can be used to create complex, dynamic structures. Because
the design approach is modular, these structures are easy to both
assemble and disassemble.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A new approach to producing metamaterials draws on kirigami techniques
to make three-dimensional, reconfigurable building blocks that can be
used to create complex, dynamic structures. Because the design approach
is modular, these structures are easy to both assemble and disassemble.


========================================================================== "Applying kirigami to three-dimensional materials offers a new level
of reconfigurability for these structures," says Jie Yin, corresponding
author of a paper on the work and an associate professor of mechanical
and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University.

Researchers are optimistic that these 3D metamaterials could be
used in applications such as lightweight construction materials for
buildings, components for modular robotics and wave guiding in acoustic metamaterials.

Kirigami is a variation of origami that involves cutting paper, in
addition to folding it. While kirigami is done using two-dimensional
materials, such as paper, Yin and his collaborators have applied the
principles of kirigami to three-dimensional materials that are cut into connected cubes.

Specifically, the researchers modeled their new approach using a series
of eight connected cardboard cubes that are open on two sides. Think
of each unit of eight connected cubes as a building block. Depending on
how the cubes are connected to each other, these building blocks can be
folded into more than 300,000 different designs.

"Think of these kirigami units as versatile building blocks that can
be assembled to create larger structures with different mechanical
properties," Yin says. "What's more, the larger structures can also be disassembled, allowing users to reassemble the kirigami units into new structures." To demonstrate the utility of the concept, the researchers created more than a dozen reconfigurable building blocks. Each block
consisted of eight connected paper cubes and could be reconfigured into
eight different shapes. Video highlights the ways that each unit could
be reconfigured into different structures, how those structures could be assembled into larger structures, and how the assembled large structures
could be disassembled back into the reconfigurable blocks.

Depending on the orientation of the solid cube walls and open sides in
each block, and the placement of each block in the larger structure, the structure will behave differently. This allows users to tune each building block's mechanical properties. For example, a single building block could
be folded into a structure that can be easily compressed, or refolded
into a different shape that is capable of bearing a significant load.

"The fact that you can disassemble and reconfigure these 3D metamaterials
allow users to alter the mechanical properties of a structure as needed
to perform different tasks," Yin says. "Fold it one way to make it easy
to compress, fold it another way to allow for lateral movement, fold it a
third way to make it rigid or enhance its physical strength -- and so on.

"This work was focused on demonstrating the fundamental concept,"
Yin says.

"Our next step is to demonstrate applications for the concept."
The paper, "3D Transformable Modular Kirigami-Based Programmable Metamaterials," is published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.

First author of the paper is Yanbin Li, a Ph.D. student at NC State. The
paper was co-authored by Yaoye Hong, a Ph.D. student at NC State;
and Qiuting Zhang, a postdoctoral researcher at Yale University. The
work was done with support from the National Science Foundation under
grant 2005374.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlry26Q93vk ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
North_Carolina_State_University. Original written by Matt Shipman. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Yanbin Li, Qiuting Zhang, Yaoye Hong, Jie Yin. 3D Transformable
Modular
Kirigami Based Programmable Metamaterials. Advanced Functional
Materials, 2021; 2105641 DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202105641 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210809144033.htm

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