Good Vibes. In Art of Science

Caption: Interaction of linear and nonlinear waves in a lattice with equal constraints and degrees of freedom
Participant category: Graduate student
Department: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

This project studies how nonlinearity influences the response of zero energy modes of deformation in a topological lattice with balanced degrees of freedom and constraints. These topological lattices can be tuned to have a soft edge with zero stiffness and a hard edge with infinite stiffness. In addition the quasi-static nature of the zero modes in two spatial dimensions can be shown to mimic nonlinear wave phenomena in one space and one time dimension. This study demonstrates how nonlinear waves add a new degree of deformation and energy manipulation in addition to previous topological band theory allowing for novel metamaterials and a new and efficient method for studying nonlinear dynamic systems.