Tuning the Response in Disordered Networks

ORAL

Abstract

The fact that amorphous materials are structurally different from crystals has important consequences for how the properties of a disordered structure can be tuned. We have used jamming as a method to create spring networks in both two and three dimensions. By selectively removing a small percentage of bonds, we can tune the network to have a desired response. For example, we can tune the network's Poisson ratio anywhere between the auxetic and incompressible limits. We can also produce a targeted response at a local scale; by perturbing the positions of pair of particles at one point we can tune in a desired response a large distance away. This response is similar to the allosteric regulation in proteins where a reaction at one site activates another site of the protein molecule. Experimentally, we have successfully demonstrated such mechanical networks in 2D (by laser cutting) or in 3D (3D printing).

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Authors

  • Nidhi Pashine

    • Department of Physics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
    • Dept. of Physics, University of Chicago

  • Jason W. Rocks

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
    • Dept. of Physcs and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania

  • Irmgard Bischofberger

    • Department of Physics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
    • Dept. of Physics, University of Chicago

  • Carl P. Goodrich

    • School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

  • Sidney R. Nagel

    • University of Chicago
    • James Franck Institute, University of Chicago
    • Department of Physics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
    • University of Chicago, James Franck Institute
    • Dept. of Physics, University of Chicago

  • Andrea J. Liu

    • University of Pennsylvania
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA