Stable propagation of mechanical signals in soft media using stored elastic energy.

ABSTRACT: Soft structures with rationally designed architectures capable of large, nonlinear deformation present opportunities for unprecedented, highly tunable devices and machines. However, the highly dissipative nature of soft materials intrinsically limits or prevents certain functions, such as the propagation of mechanical signals. Here we present an architected soft system composed of elastomeric bistable beam elements connected by elastomeric linear springs. The dissipative nature of the polymer readily damps linear waves, preventing propagation of any mechanical signal beyond a short distance, as expected. However, the unique architecture of the system enables propagation of stable, nonlinear solitary transition waves with constant, controllable velocity and pulse geometry over arbitrary dis

SUBMITTER: Raney JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5024640 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature