Related papers: Theoretical stiffness limits of 4D printed self-fo…
In 3D printing, stiff fibers (e.g., carbon fiber) can reinforce thermoplastic polymers with limited stiffness. However, existing commercial digital manufacturing software only provides a few simple fiber layout algorithms, which solely use…
A tunable stiffness bone rod was designed, optimized, and 3D printed to address the common shortcomings of existing bone rods in the healing of long fractured bones. The common deficiencies of existing bone fixations are high stiffness,…
Mechanical metamaterials are structures designed to exhibit an exotic response, such as topological soft modes at a surface. Here we explore single-material 3D prints of these topological structures by translating a ball-and-spring model…
We study the mechanical stiffening behavior in two-dimensional (2D) cross-linked networks of semiflexible biopolymer filaments under simple shear. Filamental constituents immersed in a fluid undergo thermally excited bending motions.…
Inter-twisted bilayers of two-dimensional (2D) materials can host low-energy flat bands, which offer opportunity to investigate many intriguing physics associated with strong electron correlations. In the existing systems, ultra-flat bands…
Variable stiffness is a key capability in biological and robotic systems, enabling adaptive interaction across tasks and environments. Mechanical metamaterials offer an alternative to conventional mechatronic solutions by encoding stiffness…
The process of self-morphing in curved surfaces found in nature, such as with the growth of flowers and leaves, has generated interest in the study of self-morphing bilayers, which has been used in many soft robots or switchers. However,…
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…
This study examines the mechanical behavior of a novel class of mechanical metamaterials alternating pentamode lattices and stiffening plates. The unit cell of such lattices consists of a sub-lattice of the face cubic-centered unit cell…
Additive manufacturing strives to combine any combination of materials into three dimensional functional structures and devices, ultimately opening up the possibility of 3D printed machines. It remains difficult to actuate such devices,…
Mechanical metamaterials owe their extraordinary properties and functionalities to their micro-/nanoscale design of which shape, including both geometry and topology, is perhaps the most important aspect. 4D printing enables programmed,…
The design of desired behaviors in mechanical metamaterials has produced remarkable advances but has generally neglected two aspects - the inevitable presence of undesired behaviors and the role of dynamics in avoiding such behaviors.…
Folding nanopatterned flat sheets into complex 3D structures enables the fabrication of meta-biomaterials that combine a rationally designed 3D architecture (e.g., to tune mechanical and mass transport properties) with nanoscale surface…
This work focuses on planar growth-induced instabilities in three-dimensional bilayer structures, i.e., thick stiff film on a compliant substrate. Growth-induced instabilities are examined for a different range of fiber stiffness with a…
For thin networked materials, which are spatial discrete structures constructed by continuum components, a paradox on the effective thickness defined by the in-plane and out-of-plane stiffnesses is found, i.e. the effective thickness is not…
Self-folding origami, structures that are engineered flat to fold into targeted, three-dimensional shapes, have many potential engineering applications. Though significant effort in recent years has been devoted to designing fold patterns…
The ability to engineer complex three-dimensional shapes from planar sheets with precise, programmable control underpins emerging technologies in soft robotics, reconfigurable devices, and functional materials. Here, we present a…
Fueled by their excellent stiffness-to-weight ratio and the availability of mature manufacturing technologies, filament wound carbon fiber reinforced polymers represent ideal materials for thin-walled laminate structures. However, their…
Curved thin sheets are ubiquitously found in nature and manmade structures. Within the framework of classical thin plate theory, the stiffness of thin sheets is independent of its bending state. This assumption, however, goes against…
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…