Computational Design of 2D-Mechanical Metamaterials

Mechanical metamaterials are novel materials that display unique properties from their underlying microstructure topology rather than the constituent material they are made from. Their effective properties displayed at macroscale depend on the design of their microstructural topology. In this work, two classes of mechanical metamaterials are studied within the 2D-space. The first class is made of trusses, referred to as truss-based mechanical metamaterials. These materials are studied through their application to a beam component, where finite element analysis is performed to determine how truss-based microstructures affect the displacement behavior of the beam. This analysis is further subsidized with the development of a graphical user interface, where users can design a beam made of truss-based microstructures to see how their design affects the beam's behavior. The second class of mechanical metamaterial investigated is made of self-assembled structures, called spinodoids. Their smooth topology makes them less prone to high stress concentrations present in truss-based mechanical metamaterials. A large database of spinodoids is generated in this study. Through data-driven modeling the geometry of the spinodoids is coupled with their Young's modulus value to approach inverse design under uncertainty. To see mechanical metamaterials applied to industry they need to be better understood and thoroughly characterized. Furthermore, more tools that specifically help push the ease in the design of these metamaterials are needed. This work aims to improve the understanding of mechanical metamaterials and develop efficient computational design strategies catered solely for them.