Effect of aging on the non-linear elasticity and memory formation in materials

TL;DR

This study investigates how aging affects the nonlinear elastic behavior and memory formation in disordered solids through experiments and simulations, revealing how aging can be used to engineer complex elastic responses.

Contribution

The paper introduces two models for microscopic evolution in aging disordered materials, capturing experimental memory effects and nonlinear elastic modifications.

Findings

Aging significantly alters nonlinear elastic properties.

Memory effects encode aging history in material response.

Models successfully replicate experimental observations.

Abstract

Disordered solids often change their elastic response as they slowly age. Using experiments and simulations, we study how aging disordered planar networks under an applied stress affects their nonlinear elastic response. We are able to modify dramatically the elastic properties of our systems in the non-linear regime. Using simulations, we study two models for the microscopic evolution of properties of such a material; the first considers changes in the material strength while the second considers distortions in the microscopic geometry. Both models capture different aspects of the experiments including the encoding of memories of the aging history of the system and the dramatic effects on the material's nonlinear elastic properties. Our results demonstrate how aging can be used to create complex elastic behavior in the nonlinear regime.