Related papers: Rigidity of generic random tensegrity structures
Natural ligaments are soft connective tissues that must simultaneously provide high stretchability to enable dexterous flexibility and high stiffness to protect the musculoskeletal system. These two functions cannot be independently tuned…
Rapid progress in additive manufacturing methods has created a new class of ultralight and strong architected metamaterials that resemble periodic truss structures. The mechanical performance of these metamaterials with a very large number…
Investigation of inhomogeneities has wide applications in different areas of mechanics including the study of composite materials. Here, we analytically study an arbitrarily-shaped isotropic inhomogeneity embedded in a finite-sized…
An elastic double pendulum subject to a force acting along a fixed straight line, the so-called "Reut's column problem", is a structure exhibiting flutter and divergence instability, which was never realized in practice and thus debated…
Chain molecules play important roles in industry and in living cells. Our focus here is on distinct ways of modeling the stiffness inherent in a chain molecule. We consider three types of stiffnesses -- one yielding an energy penalty for…
The mechanical properties of a disordered heterogeneous medium depend, in general, on a complex interplay between multiple length scales. Connecting local interactions to macroscopic observables, such as stiffness or fracture, is thus…
We study geometrical clues of a rigidity transition due to the emergence of a system-spanning state of self stress in under-constrained systems of individual polygons and spring networks constructed from such polygons. When a polygon with…
Hooke's law states that the forces or stresses experienced by an elastic object are proportional to the applied deformations or strains. The number of coefficients of proportionality between stress and strain, i.e., the elastic moduli, is…
Stress-strain relations for random packings of entangling chains under triaxial compression can exhibit strain stiffening and sustain stresses several orders-of-magnitude beyond typical granular materials. X-ray tomography reveals the…
Disordered fibrous networks are ubiquitous in nature as major structural components of living cells and tissues. The mechanical stability of networks generally depends on the degree of connectivity: only when the average number of…
The magnitude of traction forces exerted by living animal cells on their environment is a monotonically increasing and approximately sigmoidal function of the stiffness of the external medium. This observation is rationalized using active…
When tensioned, ordinary materials expand along the direction of the applied force. Here, we explore network concepts to design metamaterials exhibiting negative compressibility transitions, during which a material undergoes contraction…
We consider the problem of finding a net that supports prescribed forces applied at prescribed points, yet avoids certain obstacles, with all the elements of the net under compression (strut net) or under tension (cable web). In the case of…
We propose a local reinforcement technique for lattices in the vicinity of a stress-raiser such as a notch, in order to elevate the macroscopic strength and ductility. A spatially non-uniform waviness distribution of sinusoidally-shaped…
Two-dimensional crystalline membranes have recently been realized experimentally in such systems as graphene and molybdenum disulfide, sparking a resurgence in interest in their statistical properties. Thermal fluctuations can significantly…
When an inextensible elastic rod is 'injected' through a sliding sleeve against a fixed constraint, configurational forces are developed, deeply influencing the mechanical response. This effect, which is a consequence of the change in…
During the last decade, tensegrity systems have been the focus of numerous investigations exploring the possibility of adopting them for planetary landing and exploration applications. Early approaches mainly focused on locomotion aspects…
A super stable tensegrity introduced by Connelly in 1982 is a globally rigid discrete structure made from stiff bars or struts connected by cables with tension. In this paper we show an exact relation between the maximum dimension that a…
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…
Taking advantage of the competition between elasticity and capillarity has proven to be an efficient way to design structures by folding, bending, or assembling elastic objects in contact with liquid interfaces. Elastocapillary effects…