Computational Design of Bio-inspired Mechanical Metamaterials Based on Lipidic Cubic Phases

We report a family of designs and numerical simulations of cubic elastic metamaterials inspired by lipidic cubic phases (LCPs). Since LCPs are triply periodic minimal surfaces spontaneously formed in natural physical and chemical processes, our designs can be suitable candidates for high-throughput fabrication through self-assembly. This potential advantage may overcome the challenge of time cost in the traditional unit-by-unit additive manufacturing processes. We analyze the bio-inspired designs of primitive, gyroid, and diamond configurations by focusing on their geometry, symmetry, and elastic behaviors. We lay out the detailed numerical simulation procedures to extract the effective macroscopic elastic moduli of cubic metamaterials. We proceed with parametric studies regarding internal surface thickness and constituent base material properties. We also discuss their implications in terms of the metamaterials’ isotropy and compressibility. Our results can provide guidelines for next-generation elastic metamaterials that can be massively produced with high efficiency.