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On Pattern-Switching Phenomena in Complex Elastic Structures
[Thesis]. Manchester, UK: The University of Manchester; 2012.
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Abstract
We investigate global pattern-switching effects in 2D cellular solids in which the voids are arranged in a square lattice. Uniaxial compression of these structures triggers an elastic instability which brings about a period-doubling transformation of the void shapes at a critical strain. Specifically, a square array of circular voids forms a pattern of mutually orthogonal ellipses and a similar effect is observed for diamond-shaped voids. The onset of instability is governed by the void fraction and size-effects are found for the experimental samples. We establish empirical laws which characterise the stiffness, strength and stability of cellular structures comprising square arrays of circular voids. A comparison of these with predictions from a discrete model implies underestimation of the resistance of the lattice to buckling, although the size effects are replicated. We find similar pattern-switching effects in the cubic lattice, which is a three-dimensional porous cube. The effect of buckling in this system is to produce a 2D pattern in one plane of voids. In two-phase granular crystals, rearrangement of a square lattice of particles results in a new, period-doubled, structural pattern. This switch can occur via an intermediate phase depending on the size ratio of the particles as shown in experiments and numerical simulations.