Superjammed: Tunable and Morphable Spanning Structures Through Granular Jamming

Elastogranular columns and beams

“…When sufficiently combined, 10–12,47,53 fiber and grains can form load-bearing columns and beams. The mechanical response of the elastogranular structures that emerge is hierarchical: (i) at very small displacements ( δ / R ≪ 1), deformation is resisted by friction as the grains rearrange (empirically, F ∼ δ ); (ii) at small displacements ( δ / R < 1), the elastogranular matrix jams, a single force chain propagates the length of the column, and the elastogranular column exhibits a Hertzian force–displacement response ( F ∼ δ 3/2 ); and finally (iii) at moderate displacements ( δ / R ≈ 1), multiple force chains sequentially engage at consistent intervals of γ i = R , and a “super Hertzian” mechanical response is observed.…”

“…11,42,43 Combining elastic and granular materials to form an elastogranular structure 38 can allow for further reinforcement, and enable the formation of jammed, free-standing elastogranular architecture. 44–46 Engineering elastogranular columns and barriers presents a means for large-scale, reversible and reusable structures, 10,12,47 which present modern analogs to subterranean elastogranular reinforcement, a task previously achieved using mechanically stabilized earth 48 and fabric. 49 Current research efforts in architectural jamming 10,12,47 have demonstrated that elastogranular structures can be utilized as engineering structures if we can better understand how to design and build them with designed mechanical properties.…”

Emergence of Structure in Columns of Grains and Elastic Loops

“…Entangled plant roots aid in preventing landslides and stabilizing the banks of rivers [19,20]. Recently this method of stabilizing granular matter has been used to build structures -researchers have combined different kinds of fibers and grains and shaped them into load bearing walls and columns [21][22][23].…”