Mesoscale DVC analyses and parameter calibration for pantographic block in 3-point flexure

In the present work, the mechanical response of a fiber network metamaterial was studied when subjected to 3-point flexure. To account for the initial deformation of the sample due to the fabrication process, backtracking (i.e., the nominal mesh was accurately repositioned in the reference configuration) was implemented in the Digital Volume Correlation (DVC) procedure. Kinematic fields were then measured via DVC at two different scales. Finite element based DVC was validated thanks to a series of initialization steps. The displacement fields were successfully measured and a peculiar deformation mechanism was observed. These measurements were employed to calibrate the constitutive parameters of a second gradient continuum model introduced for modeling this type of metamaterial. Numerical simulations are shown to be in good agreement with experimental measurements at the macroscopic scale.