Bandgap tuning in kerfed metastrips under extreme deformation

TL;DR

This paper explores how kerfing enables the creation of deformable structures with tunable bandgaps, combining numerical and experimental methods to reveal the influence of extreme deformation on bandgap behavior in kerfed strips.

Contribution

It introduces a novel investigation of bandgap tuning in kerfed metastrips under extreme deformation, highlighting the role of resonant sub-units and cut patterns.

Findings

Kerfing induces a rich landscape of bandgaps in the strips.

Extreme deformation can be used as a mechanism to tune bandgaps.

Resonant sub-units within kerf units are key to bandgap behavior.

Abstract

The process of kerfing enables planar structures with the ability to undergo dramatic out-of-plane deformation in response to static loads. Starting from flat and stiff sheets, kerfing allows for the formation of a wide variety of unconventional free-form shapes, making the process especially attractive for architectural applications. In this work, we investigate numerically and experimentally the bandgap behavior of densely cut kerfed strips. Our study reveals a rich landscape of bandgaps that is predominantly ascribable to the activation of resonant sub-units within the kerf unit cells. We also document how the extreme deformability of the strips under twisting and bending loads, enhanced by the meandering cut pattern, can serve as a powerful bandgap tuning mechanism.