Smart Metamaterials: Modelling, Structural Mechanics and Performance Analysis

Dear Colleagues,

Smart metamaterials, engineered with tailored microstructures to exhibit extraordinary, stimuli-responsive properties, are reshaping technological frontiers in aerospace, robotics, and healthcare. This research direction delves into advanced modelling frameworks—spanning finite element analysis and multi-scale simulations—to decode their complex behaviour, paired with in-depth structural mechanics investigations to understand load distribution, deformation mechanisms, and failure dynamics. Performance analysis, via experimental testing and data-driven validation, further refines their design for optimal adaptability, from shape-morphing structures to energy-efficient systems.

This Special Issue of Materials, entitled “Smart Metamaterials: Modelling, Structural Mechanics and Performance Analysis”, seeks to showcase cutting‑edge research on the development and application of metamaterial‑based solutions. We invite original research articles and comprehensive reviews addressing, but not limited to, the following topics:

• Impact and blast mitigation using architected materials (e.g., graded lattices, origami/kirigami‑inspired structures, hierarchical foams);
• Advanced design strategies (e.g., topology optimization, machine learning‑driven synthesis, bio‑inspired configurations);
• Thermo‑mechanical coupling effects in metamaterials (e.g., thermal expansion control, heat‑triggered phase change, temperature‑dependent stiffness tuning);
• Vibration and acoustic wave manipulation (e.g., band‑gap engineering, non‑reciprocal waveguides, locally resonant meta‑units);
• Multi-scale modelling and numerical methods (e.g., finite element homogenization, discrete element approaches, reduced‑order models);
• Innovative fabrication techniques (e.g., multi‑material additive manufacturing, laser‑directed energy deposition, self‑assembly routes);
• Theoretical foundations and analytical frameworks (e.g., effective medium theories, Floquet–Bloch analysis, nonlinear dynamical models).

Dr. Qiduo Jin
Dr. Hongjia Zhang
Dr. Yabin Deng
Prof. Dr. Hongyong Jiang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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