A materials-centric strategy enables record specific energy absorption in additively manufactured aluminum-based lattice metamaterials

Bingyu Xie; Xi He; Yuhe Huang; Zhifang Shi; Gan Li; Guanghui Feng; Enjie Dong; Hongxing Lu; Qiang Zhu

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2025.12.021

A materials-centric strategy enables record specific energy absorption in additively manufactured aluminum-based lattice metamaterials

Bingyu Xie (Co-first Author)
, Xi He (Co-first Author)
, Yuhe Huang
, Zhifang Shi
, Gan Li^*
, Guanghui Feng
, Enjie Dong
, Hongxing Lu
, Qiang Zhu^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › Letter

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Additively manufactured lightweight lattice metamaterials are widely employed in various advanced engineering fields due to their customizable architecture and excellent energy absorption. However, enhanced energy absorption and strength achieved in these metamaterials are mostly achieved by structural optimization. This study presents a novel approach using a high-performance heterostructured Al alloy to fabricate lattice metamaterials with record mechanical performance without any structural modification. The non-heat-treated face-centered cubic (FCC) architecture achieves unprecedented specific energy absorption (32.4 ± 0.4 J/g) and relative yield strength (7.4% ± 0.2%), substantially surpassing other Al-based metamaterials. Furthermore, the toughness and strength of the bulk alloys nearly determine the specific energy absorption and relative yield strength of body-centered cubic (BCC) and FCC metamaterials at both non-heat-treated and heat-treated conditions, which reveals that the intrinsic material properties govern deformation behavior in lattice metamaterials. This materials-centric strategy can offer novel insights for designing high-performance metamaterials, driving innovations in lightweight and energy-absorbing components in advanced engineering applications. © 2026 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	37-45
Number of pages	9
Journal	Journal of Materials Science and Technology
Volume	267
Online published	17 Dec 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2025.12.021
Publication status	Published - 1 Oct 2026

Funding

The authors are grateful to the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51801096, 52074157, and 52250710160), the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (No. 2023A1515012407), the Shenzhen Science and Technology Project (Nos. JCYJ20220818100613028 and ZDSYS201703031748354), and the high level of special funds from Southern University of Science and Technology (Nos. G030330003 and G03034K003). The authors are also grateful to the Southern University of Science and Technology Core Research Facilities for the technical support.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

Research Keywords

Additive manufacturing
Aluminium alloys
Energy absorption
Lattice metamaterials
Mechanical properties

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title = "A materials-centric strategy enables record specific energy absorption in additively manufactured aluminum-based lattice metamaterials",

abstract = "Additively manufactured lightweight lattice metamaterials are widely employed in various advanced engineering fields due to their customizable architecture and excellent energy absorption. However, enhanced energy absorption and strength achieved in these metamaterials are mostly achieved by structural optimization. This study presents a novel approach using a high-performance heterostructured Al alloy to fabricate lattice metamaterials with record mechanical performance without any structural modification. The non-heat-treated face-centered cubic (FCC) architecture achieves unprecedented specific energy absorption (32.4 ± 0.4 J/g) and relative yield strength (7.4\% ± 0.2\%), substantially surpassing other Al-based metamaterials. Furthermore, the toughness and strength of the bulk alloys nearly determine the specific energy absorption and relative yield strength of body-centered cubic (BCC) and FCC metamaterials at both non-heat-treated and heat-treated conditions, which reveals that the intrinsic material properties govern deformation behavior in lattice metamaterials. This materials-centric strategy can offer novel insights for designing high-performance metamaterials, driving innovations in lightweight and energy-absorbing components in advanced engineering applications. {\textcopyright} 2026 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science \& Technology.",

keywords = "Additive manufacturing, Aluminium alloys, Energy absorption, Lattice metamaterials, Mechanical properties",

author = "Bingyu Xie and Xi He and Yuhe Huang and Zhifang Shi and Gan Li and Guanghui Feng and Enjie Dong and Hongxing Lu and Qiang Zhu",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - A materials-centric strategy enables record specific energy absorption in additively manufactured aluminum-based lattice metamaterials

AU - Xie, Bingyu

AU - He, Xi

AU - Huang, Yuhe

AU - Shi, Zhifang

AU - Li, Gan

AU - Feng, Guanghui

AU - Dong, Enjie

AU - Lu, Hongxing

AU - Zhu, Qiang

PY - 2026/10/1

Y1 - 2026/10/1

N2 - Additively manufactured lightweight lattice metamaterials are widely employed in various advanced engineering fields due to their customizable architecture and excellent energy absorption. However, enhanced energy absorption and strength achieved in these metamaterials are mostly achieved by structural optimization. This study presents a novel approach using a high-performance heterostructured Al alloy to fabricate lattice metamaterials with record mechanical performance without any structural modification. The non-heat-treated face-centered cubic (FCC) architecture achieves unprecedented specific energy absorption (32.4 ± 0.4 J/g) and relative yield strength (7.4% ± 0.2%), substantially surpassing other Al-based metamaterials. Furthermore, the toughness and strength of the bulk alloys nearly determine the specific energy absorption and relative yield strength of body-centered cubic (BCC) and FCC metamaterials at both non-heat-treated and heat-treated conditions, which reveals that the intrinsic material properties govern deformation behavior in lattice metamaterials. This materials-centric strategy can offer novel insights for designing high-performance metamaterials, driving innovations in lightweight and energy-absorbing components in advanced engineering applications. © 2026 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.

AB - Additively manufactured lightweight lattice metamaterials are widely employed in various advanced engineering fields due to their customizable architecture and excellent energy absorption. However, enhanced energy absorption and strength achieved in these metamaterials are mostly achieved by structural optimization. This study presents a novel approach using a high-performance heterostructured Al alloy to fabricate lattice metamaterials with record mechanical performance without any structural modification. The non-heat-treated face-centered cubic (FCC) architecture achieves unprecedented specific energy absorption (32.4 ± 0.4 J/g) and relative yield strength (7.4% ± 0.2%), substantially surpassing other Al-based metamaterials. Furthermore, the toughness and strength of the bulk alloys nearly determine the specific energy absorption and relative yield strength of body-centered cubic (BCC) and FCC metamaterials at both non-heat-treated and heat-treated conditions, which reveals that the intrinsic material properties govern deformation behavior in lattice metamaterials. This materials-centric strategy can offer novel insights for designing high-performance metamaterials, driving innovations in lightweight and energy-absorbing components in advanced engineering applications. © 2026 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.

KW - Additive manufacturing

KW - Aluminium alloys

KW - Energy absorption

KW - Lattice metamaterials

KW - Mechanical properties

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105027055072

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105027055072#tab=impact

U2 - 10.1016/j.jmst.2025.12.021

DO - 10.1016/j.jmst.2025.12.021

M3 - Letter

SN - 1005-0302

VL - 267

SP - 37

EP - 45

JO - Journal of Materials Science and Technology

JF - Journal of Materials Science and Technology

ER -

A materials-centric strategy enables record specific energy absorption in additively manufactured aluminum-based lattice metamaterials

Abstract

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UN SDGs

Research Keywords

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