Mechanical couplings of 2D lattices uncovered by decoupled micropolar elasticity tensor and symmetry operation

We introduce a generalized methodology to uncover all mechanical couplings in 2D lattice geometries by obtaining the decoupled micropolar elasticity tensor. We also correlate the mechanical couplings with the point groups of 2D lattices by applying the symmetry operation to the decoupled micropolar elasticity tensor. The decoupled micropolar constitutive equation reveals eight mechanical coupling effects in planar solids, four of which are discovered for the first time in the mechanics' community. The symmetry operation of the decoupled micropolar elasticity tensor shows the correlation of the mechanical coupling with the point groups. The correlation of the mechanical couplings with the point groups can strengthen the design of mechanical metamaterials with potential applications in areas including sensors, actuators, soft robots, and active metamaterials for elastic/acoustic wave guidance and thermal management.

For more information, you may visit https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmps.2022.105012