Collective Behavior of Mechanical Metamaterials in Response to Harmonically Distributed Loads

Traditionally, mechanical metamaterials are not understood on the basis of any wave-like quantity since all loads are applied quasistatically and the resulting deformation pattern is the state that occurs after all time-dependent vibrations subside. This work creates new understanding in the sense that static deformation of an elastic body can be broken down in terms of its response to harmonically distributed loads. This spectral representation of static deformation leads to new classes of lattice-based mechanical metamaterials capable of exotic mechanical behavior. The final two chapters are dedicated to the separate topic of bistable mechanical and thermomechanical lattice-based metamaterials.