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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Xinwei LiORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2026 The Author(s). Advanced Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.Achieving metamaterials that are simultaneously mechanically, acoustically, and thermally functional remains a central challenge in architected material design. In this research, we report a turtle shell bioinspired multifunctional lattice metamaterial (BMLM) that overcomes this limitation through topology-driven hybrid-coupling of distinct dissipation and transport pathways within a single hierarchical framework. The integration of arcuate plate-strut geometries with engineered microporosity enables coordinated mechanical energy absorption, acoustic attenuation, and convective thermal transport. Experimentally validated, the proposed architecture achieves an exceptional specific compressive energy absorption of 55.7 kJ/kg alongside broadband acoustic performance, exhibiting an average sound absorption coefficient of 0.954 and near-unity absorption (>0.9) sustained continuously from 2150 to 4250 Hz. Notably, the structure maintains acoustic stability under severe deformation; even at 40% compressive strain, absorption remains above 0.9 across a 2.1 kHz bandwidth, demonstrating deformation-resilient functionality. Moreover, the interconnected open-cell topology facilitates efficient airflow and convective thermal dissipation through its high surface-area-to-volume ratio, comparing superior to standard plate-fin heat sinks. Collectively, this work establishes a topology-driven strategy for designing bio-inspired metamaterials with robust, cross-domain performance.
Author(s): Wang X, Wang S, Chen B, Li X
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Advanced Materials
Year: 2026
Pages: epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 16/07/2026
Acceptance date: 01/07/2026
Date deposited: 27/07/2026
ISSN (print): 0935-9648
ISSN (electronic): 1521-4095
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Inc
URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.74125
DOI: 10.1002/adma.74125
Data Access Statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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