Non-uniform pneumatic actuation switches macroscopic properties of elastomeric honeycombs

• Pneumatic actuation triggers multimodal internal buckling in pattern-forming metamaterials. • Different schemes of pneumatic actuation trigger distinct patterns of a honeycomb microstructure. • Experiments confirm theoretical and numerical findings. • Switchable acoustic properties and anisotropy of effective stiffness achieved independently of macroscopic strain. Honeycomb microstructures with circular voids are well known to undergo pattern transformations under macroscopic strain loading. Depending on the biaxiality of the applied strain, they deform into three different patterns. Here we demonstrate that the same three patterns can be triggered also by pneumatic actuation of the voids, with resulting patterns depending on an applied pressurization scheme, i.e., the ratio of suction pressures introduced in different voids within the microstructure. Our numerically obtained findings are experimentally validated on two finite size samples made of silicone rubber cast in a 3D printed mold. In numerical studies, we first showcase the evolution of homogenized stiffness and its anisotropy during the genesis of pneumatically-induced patterns. Our loading schemes result in macroscopic stiffness varying by a factor of two with loading direction, chosen by a reversible actuation independent of the load itself. Second, we study the effect of the pneumatic actuation on acoustic properties of the microstructure, finding the proposed method viable to trigger different acoustic bandgaps.