Multi-stability Property of Magneto-Kresling Truss Structures

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-39
Author(s):  
Xinyan Yang ◽  
Sinan Keten

Abstract The Kresling truss structure, derived from Kresling-ori, has been widely studied for its bi-stability and various other properties that are useful for diverse engineering applications. The stable states of Kresling trusses are governed by their geometry and elastic response, which involves a limited design space that has been well-explored in previous studies. In this work, we present a novel magneto-Kresling truss design that involves embedding nodal magnets in the structure, which results in a more complex energy landscape, and consequently, greater tunability under mechanical deformation. We explore this energy landscape first along the zero-torque folding path and then release the restraint on the path to explore the complete two-degree-of-freedom behavior for various structural geometries and magnet strengths. We show that the magnetic interaction could alter the potential energy landscape by either changing the stable configuration, adjusting the energy well depth, or both. Energy wells with different minima endow this magneto-elastic structure with an outstanding energy storage capacity. More interestingly, proper design of the magneto-Kresling truss system yields a tri-stable structure, which is not possible in the absence of magnets. We also demonstrate various loading paths that can induce desired conformational changes of the structure. The proposed magneto-Kresling truss design sets the stage for fabricating tunable, scalable magneto-elastic multi-stable systems that can be easily utilized for applications in energy harvesting, storage, vibration control, as well as active structures with shape-shifting capability.

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvio Franz ◽  
Antonio Sclocchi ◽  
Pierfrancesco Urbani

We show that soft spheres interacting with a linear ramp potential when overcompressed beyond the jamming point fall in an amorphous solid phase which is critical, mechanically marginally stable and share many features with the jamming point itself. In the whole phase, the relevant local minima of the potential energy landscape display an isostatic contact network of perfectly touching spheres whose statistics is controlled by an infinite lengthscale. Excitations around such energy minima are non-linear, system spanning, and characterized by a set of non-trivial critical exponents. We perform numerical simulations to measure their values and show that, while they coincide, within numerical precision, with the critical exponents appearing at jamming, the nature of the corresponding excitations is richer. Therefore, linear soft spheres appear as a novel class of finite dimensional systems that self-organize into new, critical, marginally stable, states.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Franz Demmel ◽  
Louis Hennet ◽  
Noel Jakse

AbstractThe characteristic property of a liquid, discriminating it from a solid, is its fluidity, which can be expressed by a velocity field. The reaction of the velocity field on forces is enshrined in the transport parameter viscosity. In contrast, a solid reacts to forces elastically through a displacement field, the particles are trapped in their potential minimum. The flow in a liquid needs enough thermal energy to overcome the changing potential barriers, which is supported through a continuous rearrangement of surrounding particles. Cooling a liquid will decrease the fluidity of a particle and the mobility of the neighbouring particles, resulting in an increase of the viscosity until the system comes to an arrest. This process with a concomitant slowing down of collective particle rearrangements might already start deep inside the liquid state. The idea of the potential energy landscape provides an attractive picture for these dramatic changes. However, despite the appealing idea there is a scarcity of quantitative assessments, in particular, when it comes to experimental studies. Here we present results on a monatomic liquid metal through a combination of ab initio molecular dynamics, neutron spectroscopy and inelastic x-ray scattering. We investigated the collective dynamics of liquid aluminium to reveal the changes in dynamics when the high temperature liquid is cooled towards solidification. The results demonstrate the main signatures of the energy landscape picture, a reduction in the internal atomic structural energy, a transition to a stretched relaxation process and a deviation from the high-temperature Arrhenius behavior of the relaxation time. All changes occur in the same temperature range at about $$1.4 \cdot T_{melting}$$ 1.4 · T melting , which can be regarded as the temperature when the liquid aluminium enters the landscape influenced phase and enters a more viscous liquid state towards solidification. The similarity in dynamics with other monatomic liquid metals suggests a universal dynamic crossover above the melting point.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Miguel Ojeda Mota ◽  
Ethen Thomas Lund ◽  
Sungwoo Sohn ◽  
David John Browne ◽  
Douglas Clayton Hofmann ◽  
...  

AbstractMost of the known bulk metallic glasses lack sufficient ductility or toughness when fabricated under conditions resulting in bulk glass formation. To address this major shortcoming, processing techniques to improve ductility that mechanically affect the glass have been developed, however it remains unclear for which metallic glass formers they work and by how much. Instead of manipulating the glass state, we show here that an applied strain rate can excite the liquid, and simultaneous cooling results in freezing of the excited liquid into a glass with a higher fictive temperature. Microscopically, straining causes the structure to dilate, hence “pulls” the structure energetically up the potential energy landscape. Upon further cooling, the resulting excited liquid freezes into an excited glass that exhibits enhanced ductility. We use Zr44Ti11Cu10Ni10Be25 as an example alloy to pull bulk metallic glasses through this excited liquid cooling method, which can lead to tripling of the bending ductility.


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (26) ◽  
pp. 14987-14995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ratan Othayoth ◽  
George Thoms ◽  
Chen Li

Effective locomotion in nature happens by transitioning across multiple modes (e.g., walk, run, climb). Despite this, far more mechanistic understanding of terrestrial locomotion has been on how to generate and stabilize around near–steady-state movement in a single mode. We still know little about how locomotor transitions emerge from physical interaction with complex terrain. Consequently, robots largely rely on geometric maps to avoid obstacles, not traverse them. Recent studies revealed that locomotor transitions in complex three-dimensional (3D) terrain occur probabilistically via multiple pathways. Here, we show that an energy landscape approach elucidates the underlying physical principles. We discovered that locomotor transitions of animals and robots self-propelled through complex 3D terrain correspond to barrier-crossing transitions on a potential energy landscape. Locomotor modes are attracted to landscape basins separated by potential energy barriers. Kinetic energy fluctuation from oscillatory self-propulsion helps the system stochastically escape from one basin and reach another to make transitions. Escape is more likely toward lower barrier direction. These principles are surprisingly similar to those of near-equilibrium, microscopic systems. Analogous to free-energy landscapes for multipathway protein folding transitions, our energy landscape approach from first principles is the beginning of a statistical physics theory of multipathway locomotor transitions in complex terrain. This will not only help understand how the organization of animal behavior emerges from multiscale interactions between their neural and mechanical systems and the physical environment, but also guide robot design, control, and planning over the large, intractable locomotor-terrain parameter space to generate robust locomotor transitions through the real world.


mBio ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Cardone ◽  
Robert L. Duda ◽  
Naiqian Cheng ◽  
Lili You ◽  
James F. Conway ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT As they mature, many capsids undergo massive conformational changes that transform their stability, reactivity, and capacity for DNA. In some cases, maturation proceeds via one or more intermediate states. These structures represent local minima in a rich energy landscape that combines contributions from subunit folding, association of subunits into capsomers, and intercapsomer interactions. We have used scanning calorimetry and cryo-electron microscopy to explore the range of capsid conformations accessible to bacteriophage HK97. To separate conformational effects from those associated with covalent cross-linking (a stabilization mechanism of HK97), a cross-link-incompetent mutant was used. The mature capsid Head I undergoes an endothermic phase transition at 60°C in which it shrinks by 7%, primarily through changes in its hexamer conformation. The transition is reversible, with a half-life of ~3 min; however, >50% of reverted capsids are severely distorted or ruptured. This observation implies that such damage is a potential hazard of large-scale structural changes such as those involved in maturation. Assuming that the risk is lower for smaller changes, this suggests a rationalization for the existence of metastable intermediates: that they serve as stepping stones that preserve capsid integrity as it switches between the radically different conformations of its precursor and mature states. IMPORTANCE Large-scale conformational changes are widespread in virus maturation and infection processes. These changes are accompanied by the release of conformational free energy as the virion (or fusogenic glycoprotein) switches from a precursor state to its mature state. Each state corresponds to a local minimum in an energy landscape. The conformational changes in capsid maturation are so radical that the question arises of how maturing capsids avoid being torn apart. Offering proof of principle, severe damage is inflicted when a bacteriophage HK97 capsid reverts from the (nonphysiological) state that it enters when heated past 60°C. We suggest that capsid proteins have been selected in part by the criterion of being able to avoid sustaining collateral damage as they mature. One way of achieving this—as with the HK97 capsid—involves breaking the overall transition down into several smaller steps in which the risk of damage is reduced.


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