Design 3D metamaterials with compression-induced-twisting characteristics using shear–compression coupling effects

Metamaterials with compression-induced-twisting (CIT)features shows great potential applications in sensors and actuators. In this paper, a series of 3D metamaterials are developed with the inspiration of the shear–compression coupling effect of the 2D materials, which exhibits twisting behavior when subjected to uniaxial loading. Analytical solutions and numerical simulations are both carried out to demonstrate the possible CIT performance of the proposed 3D metamaterial models, with good agreement obtained. A linear relationship between the 2D shear–compression coupling effect and the twist angle per axial strain of the 3D structures is also deduced. In addition, the twist angle per axial strain can be designed to be infinite. This concept of CIT metamaterials in this paper might shed light on the design and optimization of 3D architectures with multifunctional applications.