Deformation twinning as a strengthening mechanism in microtruss cellular materials

The use of deformation twinning as a strengthening mechanism in microtruss cellular materials is described for the first time. Plastic strain was imparted to the high-Mn steel microtruss struts during stretch–bend fabrication. The extensive twinning reduced the mean free path of subsequent dislocations, increasing the flow stress and work-hardening rate within the microtruss struts. Over the range of architectures studied, the presence or absence of these deformation twins determined the overall compressive strength of the cellular material.