2025/02/24 by Chang Xu, Shuaihu Wang, Xu, Chang +13
Engineering · #Applied Physics (physics.app-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Innovations in Concrete and Construction Materials #Mechanical Behavior of Composites #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) #Structural Analysis of Composite Materials
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2502.17083
openalex publication_date 2025/02/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Mechanical non-reciprocity-manifested as asymmetric responses to opposing mechanical stimuli-has traditionally been achieved through intricate structural nonlinearities in metamaterials. However, continuum solids with inherent non-reciprocal mechanics remain underexplored, despite their promising potential for applications such as wave guiding, robotics, and adaptive materials. Here, we introduce a design principle by employing the shear jamming transition from granular physics to engineer non-reciprocal mechanics in soft composite solids. Through the control of the interplay between inclusion contact networks and matrix elasticity, we achieve tunable, direction-dependent asymmetry in both shear and normal mechanical responses. In addition to static regimes, we demonstrate programmable non-reciprocal dynamics by combining responsive magnetic profiles with the anisotropic characteristics of shear-jammed systems. This strategy enables asymmetric spatiotemporal control over motion transmission, a previously challenging feat in soft materials. Our work establishes a novel paradigm for designing non-reciprocal matter, bridging granular physics with soft material engineering to realize functionalities essential for mechano-intelligent systems.