Beading is the new jamming: leveraging compliance and rigidity in discrete shape morphing structures

From the pragmatic act of covering to the whims of haute couture, civilizations throughout history have employed textiles in some of the most demanding yet ubiquitous engineering scenarios. Assembled by hand or machine, networks of fibers can be manipulated into complex three-dimensional geometries, exhibiting emergent mechanical properties such as anisotropic stretch and abrasion resistance while remaining compliant. As such, fabrics cannot typically withstand compressive forces, limiting their applicability in some settings. Here we show that by introducing discrete rigid units in textiles, i.e. beads, we can form shape-morphing objects with tunable stiffness and the capacity to withstand large compressive forces. Drawing inspiration from traditional beadwork, we devise a model experiment that is initially flat but morphs into a shell when tension is applied. We investigate and rationalize its mechanical properties. Our findings could have implications ranging from soft robotics to architecture, where the potential utility of shape morphing is often limited by length scale due to gravity and external loads.