Related papers: Shaping dynamical folding and misfolding pathways …

Multi-step pathways, constituted of a sequence of reconfigurations, are central to a wide variety of natural and man-made systems. Such pathways autonomously execute in self-guided processes such as protein folding and self-assembly, but…

Disordered mechanical systems can deform along a network of pathways that branch and recombine at special configurations called bifurcation points. Multiple pathways are accessible from these bifurcation points; consequently, computer-aided…

In many scenarios -- when we bite food or during a crash -- fracture is inevitable. Finding solutions to steer fracture to mitigate its impact or turn it into a purposeful functionality, is therefore crucial. Strategies using composites,…

Mechanical metamaterials are usually designed to show desired responses to prescribed forces. In some applications, the desired force-response relationship might be hard to specify exactly, although examples of forces and corresponding…

Nature provides examples of self-assemble lightweight disordered network structures with remarkable mechanical properties which are desirable for many applications purposes but challenging to reproduce artificially. Previous experimental…

Mechanical metamaterials leverage geometric design to achieve unconventional properties, such as high strength at low density, efficient wave guiding, and complex shape morphing. The ability to control shape changes builds on the complex…

Mechanical metamaterials are periodic lattice structures with complex unit cell architectures that can achieve extraordinary mechanical properties beyond the capability of bulk materials. A new class of metamaterials is proposed, whose…

Folding can transform mundane objects such as napkins into stunning works of art. However, finding new folding transformations for sheet materials is a challenging problem that requires expertise and real-world experimentation. In this…

Reconfigurable metamaterials are constructed from tessellation of deformable modules that give rise to a set of tuneable properties. To date, most research focuses on metamaterials that morph between final configurations along a single…

Curvature and mechanics are intimately connected for thin materials, and this coupling between geometry and physical properties is readily seen in folded structures from intestinal villi and pollen grains, to wrinkled membranes and…

Pattern-forming metamaterials feature microstructures specifically designed to change the material's macroscopic properties due to internal instabilities. These can be triggered either by mechanical deformation or, in the case of active…

Harnessing the rich nonlinear dynamics of highly-deformable materials has the potential to unlock the next generation of functional smart materials and devices. However, unlocking such potential requires effective strategies to spatially…

Materials which feature bistable elements, hysterons, exhibit memory effects. Often these hysterons are difficult to observe or control directly. Here we introduce a mechanical metamaterial in which slender elements, interacting with…

Mechanical metamaterials made of flexible building blocks can exhibit a plethora of extreme mechanical responses, such as negative elastic constants, shape-changes, programmability and memory. To date, dissipation has largely remained…

From self-assembly and protein folding to combinatorial metamaterials, a key challenge in material design is finding the right combination of interacting building blocks that yield targeted properties. Such structures are fiendishly…

Geometric frustration offers a pathway to soft matter self-assembly with controllable finite sizes. While the understanding of frustration in soft matter assembly derives almost exclusively from continuum elastic descriptions, a current…

Our goal is to develop a design framework for multifunctional mechanical metamaterials that can tune their rigidity while optimizing other desired properties. Towards this goal, we first demonstrate that underconstrained central force…

Reprogrammable mechanical metamaterials, composed of a lattice of discretely adaptive elements, are emerging as a promising platform for mechanical intelligence. To operate in unknown environments, such structures must go beyond passive…

Mechanical metamaterials can be designed to exhibit unique mechanical properties, including tunable auxetic behavior as well as multi-stability, which arise from the geometry and configuration of the constituent building blocks.…

Nature-inspired stochastic metamaterials with disordered and multiscale architectures have shown great promise towards extraordinary functionalities, including high mechanical resilience, stress modulation and biased stiffness…