This extensive research article introduces and validates adaptive twisting metamaterials as a new class of crashworthy materials with tunable energy absorption capabilities, specifically focusing on additively manufactured gyroid structures made from FE7131 steel. The study establishes a multiscale predictive framework—combining Cosserat continuum mechanics, finite element modeling, and quasi-static and dynamic compression experiments—to explain how mechanical properties like axial stiffness and collapse stress can be controlled by torsional constraints, summarized by a torque ratio parameter. Results confirm that restricting rotation maximizes energy absorption, while allowing rotation or over-rotation significantly reduces these values, demonstrating the material's adaptive performance for next-generation protective systems in various engineering fields. Furthermore, the paper provides detailed analysis of material characterization, the influence of manufacturing defects on performance, and a new scaling law to model the adaptive energy absorption on an Ashby chart.

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