Flows in Straws: Viscous Flows in One-Dimensional Metamaterial

Abstract

The authors study the interaction between a viscous flow and a one-dimensional mechanical metamaterial composed of bistable unit cells, much like a drinking straw. Their twofold model shows excellent agreement with experimental results. While prior studies have focused on tailoring unit-cell structure to obtain a desired multistable behavior, here the viscous fluid allows tuning of rate-dependent properties and nonlocal interaction between unit cells. The ability to manipulate both structural and nonlocal rate-related properties points to the development of smart materials with tunable kinetic relations, large reversible deformations, and tailored dynamic properties.