Analysis of prismatic-like spring additively manufactured for uses in meta-structures

Abstract

A meta-structure is a structural concept consisting of a main structure containing small oscillators distributed periodically. When the meta-structure vibrates, the vibration amplitude can be substantially mitigated, if the small oscillators are all calibrated identically. Such vibration reduction occurs in a band of frequencies that contains the natural frequency of the oscillators. In elastic meta-structures made up of a supporting beam and its embedded oscillators, the design and mechanical characterization of the latter is a fundamental task. Thus, in this article a study is carried out to characterize the elastic properties of a prismatic flexural spring built additively in extruded polymers. For this purpose, the Taguchi method is used in the design of the experiment, a testing machine for determining the spring stiffness constant, and then the most influential parameters in the design of the oscillator are determined.