Multistability in Nonlinear Beam Networks for Guided Action

Elastic beams under loading exhibit bistability via buckling. Meta-materials made from periodic networks of beams use buckling to encode emergent properties like auxetic behavior. Introducing aperiodicity allows networks of beams to be highly multistable such that they can store and modify information or exhibit variable responses to mechanical inputs. Structures composed of coupled elastic beams thus hold promise as foundations of new functional and programmable materials. This talk will explore the mechanisms and dynamics of switching between stable states of networked elastic beams, with theoretical and experimental findings.