Bandgap tuning in kerfed metastrips under extreme deformation

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.