Large recoverable elastic energy in chiral metamaterials via twist buckling

Mechanical metamaterials with high recoverable elastic energy density, which we refer to as high-enthalpy elastic metamaterials, can offer many enhanced properties, including efficient mechanical energy storage, load-bearing capability, impact resistance and motion agility. These qualities make them ideal for lightweight, miniaturized and multi-functional structures. However, achieving high enthalpy is challenging, as it requires combining conflicting properties: high stiffness, high strength and large recoverable strain. Here, to address this challenge, we construct high-enthalpy elastic metamaterials from freely rotatable chiral metacells. Compared with existing non-chiral lattices, the non-optimized chiral metamaterials simultaneously maintain high stiffness, sustain larger recoverable strain, offer a wider buckling plateau, improve the buckling strength by 5-10 times, enhance enthalpy by 2-160 times and increase energy per mass by 2-32 times. These improvements arise from torsional buckling deformation that is triggered by chirality and is absent in conventional metamaterials. This deformation mode stores considerable additional energy while having a minimal impact on peak stresses that define material failure. Our findings identify a mechanism and provide insight into the design of metamaterials and structures with high mechanical energy storage capacity, a fundamental and general problem of broad engineering interest.