Elastic instabilities can trigger dramatic microstructure transformations giving rise to unusual behavior in soft matter.Motivated by this phenomenon, we study instability-induced pattern formations in soft magnetoactive elastomer (MAE) composites deforming in the presence of a magnetic field. We show that identical MAE composites with periodically distributed particles can switch to a variety of new patterns with different periodicity upon developments of instabilities. The newly formed patterns and post-buckling behavior of the MAEs are dictated by the magnitude of the applied magnetic field. We identify the particular levels of magnetic fields that give rise to strictly doubled, or multiplied periodicity upon onset of instabilities in the periodic particulate soft MAE. Thus, the predicted phenomenon can be potentially used for designing new reconfigurable soft materials with tunable material microstructures remotely controlled by magnetic field.
Experimental observations of domain formations and pattern transitions in soft particulate composites under large deformations are reported herein. The system of stiff inclusions periodically distributed in a soft elastomeric matrix experiences dramatic microstructure changes upon the development of elastic instabilities. In the experiments, the formation of microstructures with antisymmetric domains and their geometrically tailored evolution into a variety of patterns of cooperative particle rearrangements are observed. Through experimental and numerical analyses, it is shown that these patterns can be tailored by tuning the initial microstructural periodicity and concentration of the inclusions. Thus, these fully determined new patterns can be achieved by fine tuning of the initial microstructure.
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