3 research outputs found
Geometry and the onset of rigidity in a disordered network
Disordered spring networks that are undercoordinated may abruptly rigidify
when sufficient strain is applied. Since the deformation in response to applied
strain does not change the generic quantifiers of network architecture - the
number of nodes and the number of bonds between them - this rigidity transition
must have a geometric origin. Naive, degree-of-freedom based mechanical
analyses such as the Maxwell-Calladine count or the pebble game algorithm
overlook such geometric rigidity transitions and offer no means of predicting
or characterizing them. We apply tools that were developed for the topological
analysis of zero modes and states of self-stress on regular lattices to
two-dimensional random spring networks, and demonstrate that the onset of
rigidity, at a finite simple shear strain , coincides with the
appearance of a single state of self stress, accompanied by a single floppy
mode. The process conserves the topologically invariant difference between the
number of zero modes and the number of states of self stress, but imparts a
finite shear modulus to the spring network. Beyond the critical shear, we
confirm previously reported critical scaling of the modulus. In the
sub-critical regime, a singular value decomposition of the network's
compatibility matrix foreshadows the onset of rigidity by way of a continuously
vanishing singular value corresponding to nascent state of self stress.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figue
Self-stresses control stiffness and stability in overconstrained disordered networks
We investigate the interplay between pre-stress and mechanical properties in
random elastic networks. To do this in a controlled fashion, we introduce an
algorithm for creating random freestanding frames that support exactly one
state of self stress. By multiplying all the bond tensions in this state of
self stress by the same number---which with the appropriate normalization
corresponds to the physical pre-stress inside the frame---we systematically
evaluate the linear mechanical response of the frame as a function of
pre-stress. After proving that the mechanical moduli of affinely deforming
frames are rigourously independent of pre-stress, we turn to non-affinely
deforming frames. In such frames, pre-stress has a profound effect on linear
response: not only can it change the values of the linear modulus---an effect
we demonstrate to be related to a suppressive effect of pre-stress on
non-affinity---but pre-stresses also generically trigger bistable mechanical
response. Thus, pre-stress can be leveraged to both augment the mechanical
response of network architectures on the fly, and to actuate finite
deformations. These control modalities may be of use in the design of both
novel responsive materials and soft actuators.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figure