Mechanical non-reciprocity programmed by shear jamming in soft composite solids
Abstract
Mechanical non-reciprocity-manifested as asymmetric responses to opposing mechanical stimuli-has traditionally been achieved through intricate structural nonlinearities in metamaterials. However, continuum solids with inherent non-reciprocal mechanics remain underexplored, despite their promising potential for applications such as wave guiding, robotics, and adaptive materials. Here, we introduce a design principle by employing the shear jamming transition from granular physics to engineer non-reciprocal mechanics in soft composite solids. Through the control of the interplay between inclusion contact networks and matrix elasticity, we achieve tunable, direction-dependent asymmetry in both shear and normal mechanical responses. In addition to static regimes, we demonstrate programmable non-reciprocal dynamics by combining responsive magnetic profiles with the anisotropic characteristics of shear-jammed systems. This strategy enables asymmetric spatiotemporal control over motion transmission, a previously challenging feat in soft materials. Our work establishes a novel paradigm for designing non-reciprocal matter, bridging granular physics with soft material engineering to realize functionalities essential for mechano-intelligent systems.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2502.17083,
title = {Mechanical non-reciprocity programmed by shear jamming in soft composite solids},
author = {Chang Xu and Shuaihu Wang and Hong Wang and Xu Liu and Zemin Liu and Yiqiu Zhao and Wenqi Hu and Qin Xu},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2502.17083},
year = {2025}
}