Directional mechanical response in the bulk of topological metamaterials

Mechanical metamaterials are those structures designed to convey force and motion in novel and desirable ways. Recently, Kane and Lubensky showed that lattices at the point of marginal mechanical stability (Maxwell lattices) possess a topological invariant that describes the distribution of floppy,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:New journal of physics 2017-06, Vol.19 (6), p.65004
Main Author: Rocklin, D Zeb
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Energy distribution
isostatic lattice
Lattices
Mechanical analysis
mechanical response
Metamaterials
Physics
Strain
Topology
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Summary:Mechanical metamaterials are those structures designed to convey force and motion in novel and desirable ways. Recently, Kane and Lubensky showed that lattices at the point of marginal mechanical stability (Maxwell lattices) possess a topological invariant that describes the distribution of floppy, zero-energy edge modes. Here, we show that applying force at a point in the bulk of these lattices generates a directional mechanical response, in which stress or strain is induced only on one side of the force. This provides both a bulk metric for mechanical polarization and a design principle to convey stresses and strains towards or away from parts of the structure. We also characterize the effects of removing bonds on the material's structure and floppy modes, establishing a relationship between edge modes and bulk response.
ISSN:1367-2630
1367-2630
DOI:10.1088/1367-2630/aa7155