Mechanical Analysis of Metamaterials Using Vibratory NDE Technique

Metamaterials (MMs) are engineered functional materials designed to manipulate waves of various frequencies. Advanced manufacturing has enabled the creation of novel micro- and macro-structured metamaterials with tuned properties. Many of the unique patterns created by metamaterials for specific applications require non-destructive testing (NDT) because the one part manufactured needs to be deployed in the application. Additive manufacturing has expanded the range of achievable metamaterial microstructures, sparking interest in using NDT for quality testing of specialized structures. This study evaluates vibration testing to estimate the elastic modulus of aperiodic metamaterial lattices made from PLA with varying densities, achieved by altering strut lengths. Lattices underwent sine sweeps from 5–300 Hz, with elastic modulus calculated and compared to the tensile tests conducted in accordance with the ASTM D638-14 standard.