Accelerated snapping of slender beams under lateral forcing

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Meulblok, Colin M., Bense, Hadrien, Caelen, M., van Hecke, Martin
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Meulblok, Colin M.
Bense, Hadrien
Caelen, M.
van Hecke, Martin
author_facet Meulblok, Colin M.
Bense, Hadrien
Caelen, M.
van Hecke, Martin
contents The hysteretic snapping under lateral forcing of a compressed, buckled beam is fundamental for many devices and mechanical metamaterials. For a single-tip lateral pusher, an important limitation is that snapping requires the pusher to cross the centerline of the beam. Here, we show that dual-tip pushers allow accelerated snapping, where the beam snaps before the pusher reaches the centerline. As a consequence, we show that when a buckled beam under increased compression comes in contact with a dual-tip pusher, it can snap to the opposite direction -- this is impossible with a single-tip pusher. Additionally, we reveal a novel two-step snapping regime, in which the beam sequentially loses contact with the two tips of the dual-tip pusher. To characterize this class of snapping instabilities, we employ a systematic modal expansion of the beam shape. This expansion allows us to capture and analyze the transition from one-step to two-step snapping geometrically. Finally we demonstrate how to maximize the distance between the pusher and the beam's centerline at the moment of snapping. Together, our work opens up a new avenue for quantitatively and qualitatively controlling and modifying the snapping of buckled beams, with potential applications in mechanical sensors, actuators, and metamaterials.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_10091
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Accelerated snapping of slender beams under lateral forcing
Meulblok, Colin M.
Bense, Hadrien
Caelen, M.
van Hecke, Martin
Soft Condensed Matter
The hysteretic snapping under lateral forcing of a compressed, buckled beam is fundamental for many devices and mechanical metamaterials. For a single-tip lateral pusher, an important limitation is that snapping requires the pusher to cross the centerline of the beam. Here, we show that dual-tip pushers allow accelerated snapping, where the beam snaps before the pusher reaches the centerline. As a consequence, we show that when a buckled beam under increased compression comes in contact with a dual-tip pusher, it can snap to the opposite direction -- this is impossible with a single-tip pusher. Additionally, we reveal a novel two-step snapping regime, in which the beam sequentially loses contact with the two tips of the dual-tip pusher. To characterize this class of snapping instabilities, we employ a systematic modal expansion of the beam shape. This expansion allows us to capture and analyze the transition from one-step to two-step snapping geometrically. Finally we demonstrate how to maximize the distance between the pusher and the beam's centerline at the moment of snapping. Together, our work opens up a new avenue for quantitatively and qualitatively controlling and modifying the snapping of buckled beams, with potential applications in mechanical sensors, actuators, and metamaterials.
title Accelerated snapping of slender beams under lateral forcing
topic Soft Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.10091