| The effective properties of cellular materials are dependent both on the fixed material properties of the constituent material and the geometry of the cellular structure. As a result, the effective properties can be altered through geometric modifications without changes to the constituent material. Cellular materials present new opportunities in mechanical design due to the ability to produce new materials with customized properties which can improve the performance of existing designs. However, the task of designing the geometry to achieve desired properties presents additional challenges to the design process.;To increase the viability of customizable cellular materials in new product design, new methods are needed to help designers develop new materials efficiently and effectively. Two such design methods are presented in this thesis; for the design of honeycomb structures to achieve two effective shear properties simultaneously, and for the design of a compliant skin structure to achieve desired shape morphing behavior. The design methods presented here reflect an effort to develop systematic and automatable processes for the design of new cellular materials for two separate applications, using two separate approaches to the design problem.;This thesis discusses the development of both cellular structure design methods and the respective design algorithms created to implement the methods automatically. Numerical analysis is used to test the effectiveness of the methods for their respective design applications and design examples are provided for each method. |
