Frustrated domes: From planar metamaterials to load-bearing structures

We show that non-periodic, planar metamaterials can be turned into pop-up dome structures that are up-scalable and load-bearing. We do so by introducing a pin-jointed variation of such metamaterials. We illustrate the pop-up mechanics of these structures – dominated by the non-periodicity-induced frustration of a mechanism motion – via numerical simulations and experiments. We then show that joining together boundary nodes leads to self-standing domes that can bear significant loads, at least 20 times their own weight. Finally, we show that our idea can be easily scaled up to the meter-scale, and we illustrate that one can play around with the geometrical shape of the structural elements to obtain different pop-up shapes. Our work shows how metamaterials-related ideas that work at the tabletop-scale can be turned into concepts for innovative shape-morphing, load-bearing structures.