From buckliphobes to buckliphiles: Recent developments in exploiting positive virtues of instability

Structural instabilities have generally been regarded as entities that are best avoided in practice. However, with the rapid emergence of nonlinear mathematics, computational power and manufacturing techniques, the exploitation of the geometrically nonlinear range is becoming increasingly feasible for a wider range of applications. Currently, a pilot study is presented concerning the design of sandwich structures and in particular the lattice core metamaterial. The internal structure of the lattice core is deliberately disrupted by auxetic inclusions to engineer potentially exploitable features for energy absorption or structural isolation applications. A pilot numerical study shows the effect that the inclusions have on the nonlinear mechanical response such that the post-buckling behaviour may be adjusted by design to create beneficial features.