Code snippet that can be used to make menu items expanded by default in drupal 8.
For specific menu items, use:
use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityInterface;
/**
 * Implements hook_menu_link_content_presave().
 */
function mymodule_menu_link_content_presave(EntityInterface $entity) {
  if ($entity->menu_name->value == 'main') {
    $entity->expanded = 1;
  }
}
For all menu items in all menus, use:
/**
 * Implements hook_menu_link_content_presave().
 */
function mymodule_menu_link_content_presave(EntityInterface $entity) {
  if ($entity->enabled == 1) {
    $entity->expanded = 1;
  }
}