Sequential deformation in metamaterials tuned by plastic buckling

Sequential deformations play an important role in the functionality of various natural and artificial systems. So far, such behaviors are mainly explored in elastic systems. Here, we demonstrate that the buckling modes in plastic systems come from the competition between geometry and plasticity where plasticity dominant mode can help achieve robust sequential deformations. we firstly design a basic two-layer structure where the two layers can buckle in sequence in plasticity dominant systems in contrast to the single buckling mode in geometry dominant systems. Then we exploit the higher number of buckling sequences in multi-layer metamaterials and 3D metamaterials. Our work establishes a general pathway to select the sequence of deformations in metamaterials with plastic buckling which can be useful in energy absorption and topological protection.