Published in Materials & Design

The study on “Energy absorption structures based on origami-inspired metamaterial,” by Sunao Tomita et al. was published in Materials & Design.
This research aimed to design energy-absorbing structures with precisely-tailored performances characteristics using the differences between the bifurcated motions of a Tachi-Miura polyhedron (TMP) with flat-foldable and load-bearing motions. The tailored performance was investigated using finite element analysis and experiments involving test pieces fabricated via additive manufacturing. Remarkable differences were observed between the force responses of TMPs with flat-foldable and load-bearing motions. Additionally, no initial peaks in force responses and plateau forces were observed in the long-stroke range by the breaking of load-bearing motions. This indicates that TMPs exhibit suitable properties for energy absorption. These results allow for the design of energy absorption structures that can be tailored to handle various collision scenarios over a wide energy range.

Title: Origami-inspired Metamaterials with Switchable Energy Absorption Based on Bifurcated Motions of a Tachi-Miura polyhedron
Authors: Tomita, S., Shimanuki, K., Nishigaki, H., Oyama, S., Sasagawa, T., Murai, D., Umemoto, K.
Journal Name: Materials & Design
Published: December 13, 2022
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2022.111497