Stress focusing and damage protection in topological Maxwell metamaterials

Advances in the field of topological mechanics have highlighted a number special mechanical properties Maxwell lattices, including ability to focus zero-energy floppy modes and states self-stress (SSS) at their edges interfaces. Due character, these phenomena are protected against perturbations lattice geometry material properties, which makes them robust emergence structural non-idealities, defects, damage. Recent computational work has shown that lattices stress along prescribed SSS domain walls can be harnessed for purpose protecting other regions bulk from detrimental concentration and, potentially, inhibiting onset fracture mechanisms hot spots such as holes cracks. This property provides powerful, geometry-based tool design configurations damage fracture. In this work, we provide comprehensive experiment-driven exploration idea context realistic characterized by non-ideal, finite-thickness hinges. Our experiments document pronounced wall focusing, indicating remarkable robustness polarization even presence dilutive effects We also demonstrate protects potential failure defected hinges cracks bulk. Finally, illustrate numerically superiority compared trivial forms reinforcements.