Accelerated snapping of slender beams under lateral forcing

TL;DR

This paper introduces dual-tip pushers that enable faster and more versatile snapping of buckled beams under lateral forces, surpassing limitations of single-tip pushers and revealing new two-step snapping regimes.

Contribution

It demonstrates that dual-tip pushers accelerate snapping, allow contact with the opposite beam side, and enable control over snapping behavior, expanding potential applications in devices and metamaterials.

Findings

Dual-tip pushers enable accelerated snapping.

They allow contact with the opposite beam side.

A new two-step snapping regime is identified.

Abstract

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.