Shape recovery properties and load-carrying capacity of a 4D printed thick-walled kirigami-inspired honeycomb structure

Kirigami arts have provided a more promising method for building multiscale structures, which can shape two-dimensional (2D) sheets into three-dimensional (3D) configurations by cutting and folding. Here, we first carried out a theoretical analysis of the mechanical properties of 2D honeycomb lattice structures and experimental verification combined with finite element (FE) simulation. Furthermore, a series of thick-walled 3D kirigami-inspired honeycomb (TW3KH) structures with different mechanical properties were designed and fabricated on the exploration and optimization of geometric parameters of 2D honeycomb structures. The investigations of folding feasibility, self-expansion, and self-folding performance experimentally showed that our designed four-dimensional (4D) printing structure had good programmability and shape memory capability and a large volume change ratio during shape change. Meanwhile, research on its compression deformation behavior found that the TW3KH structures can recover load-bearing capacity very well when the angle is positive. Therefore, these TW3KH structures have great advantages in space-saving smart load-bearing equipment. Graphic abstract