Abstract
Disordered packings of unbonded, semiflexible fibers represent a class of materials spanning contexts and scales. From twig-based bird nests to unwoven textiles, bulk mechanics of disparate systems emerge from the bending of constituent slender elements about impermanent contacts. In experimental and computational packings of wooden sticks, we identify prominent features of their response to cyclic oedometric compression: nonlinear stiffness, transient plasticity, and eventually repeatable velocity-independent hysteresis. We trace these features to their micromechanic origins, identified in characteristic appearance, disappearance, and displacement of internal contacts.
- Received 1 December 2021
- Accepted 5 April 2022
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.198003
© 2022 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Focus
Explaining the Mechanics of a Bird’s Nest
Published 13 May 2022
Experiments and simulations explain the unusual nature of the structure’s springiness.
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