InfraTech Journal of Sustainable Architecture and Civil Engineering
Metamaterial Architectures for Advanced Mechanical Energy Absorption Systems
Abstract
Aadit Arora
In modern mechanical engineering, energy absorption capabilities are crucial for applications ranging from automotive safety to structural protection against impact and vibration. Traditional materials often face significant limitations in providing both high energy absorption and low weight profiles. This research investigates the design, fabrication, and characterization of mechanical metamaterials with tailored energy absorption properties through engineered architected lattice structures. By implementing parametric geometrical designs at multiple scales, this study demonstrates significant improvements in specific energy absorption (SEA) capacities compared to conventional engineering materials. A series of auxetic lattice structures with negative Poisson’s ratios were fabricated using selective laser sintering of titanium alloys, resulting in a 47.3% improvement in impact energy absorption while maintaining a 23.1% reduction in mass compared to solid counterparts. Numerical simulations using finite element methods accurately predicted the nonlinear mechanical responses, showing excellent correlation with experimental impact tests (R2 > 0.93). The multi-scale hierarchical approach employed in this work established relationships between microscale geometrical parameters and macroscale mechanical properties, enabling predictive design of metamaterial systems tailored for specific loading conditions. These architectured metamaterials demonstrate particular promise for applications requiring both lightweight construction and superior energy absorption capabilities, such as protective equipment, aerospace components, and next-generation vehicle crash structures.