Numerical and Experimental Analysis of Quilling-Inspired Metamaterials

In the current paper is presented the behaviour of a quilling-inspired metamaterial with a nonlinear response to deformation loads. The art of paper quilling relates on curved shapes, circles and spirals that generate 3D multi-layered structures that have the ability to auto-sustain. The study started with models of self-sustaining structures created through paper quilling techniques, further serving as base models for generating 3D metamaterials that resulted in spiral shape layers. These structures have demonstrated the capacity to withstand substantial loads, resulting in high deformation rates and instant shape recovery. The samples of metamaterial have been subjected to compressive loads and the results have been collected through three different methods: experimental testing, digital image correlation and numerical analysis. The purpose of this approach was to find a methodology to investigate the mechanical behaviour of these structures, namely the initial stiffness of the metamaterial. Using these methods of data collection and validation of the results, offers the possibility to research in detail the metamaterial inner structure and to predict the nonlinear displacement generated inside each cell of the layer.