Non-standard coupled extensional and bending bias tests for planar pantographic lattices. Part I: numerical simulations

In dell’Isola et al. (Zeitschrift für Angewandte Math und Physik 66(6):3473–3498, 2015, Proc R Soc Lond A Math Phys Eng Sci 472(2185), 2016), the concept of pantographic sheet is proposed. The aim is to design a metamaterial showing: (i) a large range of elastic response; (ii) an extreme toughness in extensional deformation; (iii) a convenient ratio between toughness and weight. However, these required properties must coexist with non-detrimental mechanical characteristics in the presence of other kinds of imposed displacements. The aim of this paper is to prove via numerical simulations that pantographic sheets may effectively resist to coupled bending and extensional deformations. The four-parameter model introduced shows its versatility as it is able to encompass all the considered types of (large) deformations. The numerical integration scheme which we use is based on the same concepts exploited in Turco et al. (Zeitschrift für Angewandte Math und Physik 67(4):1–28, 2016): They prove that the Hencky-type discretization is very efficient also in nonlinear large deformations and large displacements regimes. In Part II of this paper, we will show that the used models are very effective to describe experimental evidence.