Related papers: Buckling vs unilateral constraint for a multistabl…
Bifurcation of an elastic structure crucially depends on the curvature of the constraints against which the ends of the structure are prescribed to move, an effect which deserves more attention than it has received so far. In fact, we show…
The non-smooth dynamics is investigated for an elastic planar metainterface composed by two layers of buckling elements, each one allowing motion on one side only. Through the analogy between buckling and unilateral contact and by assuming…
A thin flat rectangular plate supported on its edges and subjected to in-plane loading exhibits stable post-buckling behaviour. However, the introduction of a nonlinear (softening) elastic foundation may cause the response to become…
Mechanism - collections of rigid elements coupled by perfect hinges which exhibit a zero-energy motion -- motivate the design of a variety of mechanical metamaterials. We significantly enlarge this design space by considering…
The ideal shock absorber combines high stiffness with high energy absorption whilst retaining structural integrity after impact and is scalable for industrial production. So far no structure meets all of these criteria. Here, we introduce a…
Elastic instabilities such as buckling and snapping have evolved into a powerful design principle, enabling memory, sequential shape morphing, and computing in metamaterials and devices. Modifying the post-buckling configurations or their…
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…
It is shown that a compound elastic structure, which displays a dynamic instability, may be designed as the union (or 'fusion') of two structures which are stable when separately analyzed. The compound elastic structure has two degrees of…
Material nonlinearities such as hyperelasticity, viscoelasticity, and plasticity have recently emerged as design paradigms for metamaterials based on buckling. These metamaterials exhibit properties such as shape morphing, transition waves,…
This paper addresses testing of compressed structures, such as shells, that exhibit catastrophic buckling and notorious imperfection sensitivity. The central concept is the probing of a loaded structural specimen by a controlled lateral…
States of self-stress, tensions and compressions of structural elements that result in zero net forces, play an important role in determining the load-bearing ability of structures ranging from bridges to metamaterials with tunable…
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…
Extreme localization of damage in conventional brittle materials is the source of a host of undesirable effects. We show how artificially engineered metamaterials with all brittle constituents can be designed to ensure that every breakable…
A highly deformable rod, modelled as the extensible elastica, is connected to a movable clamp at one end and to a pin sliding along a frictionless curved profile at the other. Bifurcation analysis shows that axial compliance provides a…
We uncover how nonlinearities dramatically alter the buckling of elastic beams. First, we show experimentally that sufficiently wide ordinary elastic beams and specifically designed metabeams ---beams made from a mechanical metamaterial---…
A concept of a planar modular mechanical metamaterial inspired by the nature's principle of local adaptivity is proposed. The metamaterial consists of identical pieces similar to jigsaw puzzle tiles. Their rotation within assembly provides…
As we enter the age of designer matter - where objects can morph and change shape on command - what tools do we need to create shape-shifting structures? At the heart of an elastic deformation is the combination of dilation and distortion,…
Advances in manufacturing techniques may now realize virtually any imaginable microstructures, paving the way for architected materials with properties beyond those found in nature. This has lead to a quest for closing gaps in…
The paper deals with the interaction between buckling and resonance instabilities of mechanical systems. Taking into account the effect of geometric nonlinearity in the equations of motion through the geometric stiffness matrix, the problem…
We propose and verify experimentally a new concept for achieving strong nonlinear coupling between the electromagnetic and elastic properties in metamaterials. This coupling is provided through a novel degree of freedom in metamaterial…