Mastering the art of designing mechanical metamaterials with quasi-zero stiffness for passive vibration isolation: a review

Abstract This review serves as a comprehensive design strategy for designing quasi-zero stiffness (QZS) mechanical metamaterials (MMs). It discusses their underlying deformation mechanisms that enable the attainment of QZS behavior under both compressive and tensile loadings. While the QZS characteristic of metamaterials has garnered considerable attention, further research is essential to unlock their potential fully. Numerous QZS metamaterials have been meticulously reviewed. They comprise various elements and mechanisms, including positive and negative stiffness elements (PS and NS), PS elements with variable stiffness, bending mechanisms employing stiff joints/areas, buckling, buckling-rotating, and bending/buckling deformation mechanisms leading to a QZS feature. Furthermore, the capability of multi-material, adaptive, smart metamaterials, origami (bending around the hinge of the folded joints), and kirigami lattices (out-of-plane buckling via cutting patterns) are weighted. These diverse mechanisms contribute to achieving QZS behavior in metamaterials under both compression and tension loads, which is paramount for various mechanical applications such as passive vibration isolation. This review effectively categorizes QZS metamaterials based on their underlying mechanisms, providing scholars with valuable insights to identify suitable mechanisms for the desired QZS feature.