We uncover how nonlinearities dramatically alter the buckling of elastic beams. First, we show experimentally that sufficiently wide ordinary elastic beams and specifically designed metabeams-beams made from a mechanical metamaterial-exhibit discontinuous buckling, an unstable form of buckling where the postbuckling stiffness is negative. Then we use simulations to uncover the crucial role of n...

In this paper, the nonlinear dynamic buckling of double-walled boron-nitride nanotube (DWBNNT) conveying viscous fluid is investigated based on Eringen's theory. BNNT is modeled as an Euler-Bernoulli beam and is subjected to combine mechanical, electrical and thermal loading. The effect of viscosity on fluid-BNNT interaction is considered based on Navier-Stokes relation. The van der Waals (vdW)...

The nonlinear mechanical response of carbon nanotubes, referred to as their "buckling" behavior, is a major topic in the nanotube research community. Buckling means a deformation process in which a large strain beyond a threshold causes an abrupt change in the strain energy vs. deformation profile. Thus far, much effort has been devoted to analysis of the buckling of nanotubes under various loa...

Bacteria swim by rotating rigid helical flagella and periodically reorienting to follow environmental cues1,2. Despite the crucial role of reorientations, their underlying mechanism has remained unknown for most uni-flagellated bacteria3,4. Here, we report that uni-flagellated bacteria turn by exploiting a finely tuned buckling instability of their hook, the 100-nm-long structure at the base of...

Strong regions and physical barriers in soils may slow root elongation, leading to reduced water and nutrient uptake and decreased yield. In this study, the biomechanical responses of roots to axial mechanical forces were assessed by combining 3D live imaging, kinematics and a novel mechanical sensor. This system quantified Young's elastic modulus of intact poplar roots (32MPa), a rapid <0.2 mN...

In this article, axisymmetric buckling behavior of piezoelectric fiber reinforced polymeric composite (PFRPC) annular plate subjected to electro-thermo-mechanical field is presented utilizing principle of minimum potential energy. Boron-nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are used as fibers. Full coupling between electrical, mechanical and thermal fields are considered according to a representative volum...

In the present article, buckling analysis of functionally graded annular thin and moderately thick plates under mechanical and thermal loads is investigated. The equilibrium and stability equations of the plate are obtained based on both classical and first order shear deformation plate theories. By using an analytical method, the coupled stability equations are converted to independent equatio...

Edge effects play an important role for many properties of graphene. While most works have focused on the effects from isolated free edges, we present a novel knotting phenomenon induced by the interactions between a pair of free edges in graphene, and investigate its effect on the buckling of monolayer graphene. Upon compression, the buckling of graphene starts gradually in the form of two buc...

The unique lattice structure and properties of graphene have drawn tremendous interests recently. By combining continuum and atomistic approaches, this paper investigates the mechanical properties of single-atomic-layer graphene sheets. A theoretical framework of nonlinear continuum mechanics is developed for graphene under both in-plane and bending deformation. Atomistic simulations are carrie...

Motivated by recent experiments showing the compressive buckling of microtubules in cells, we study theoretically the mechanical response of and force propagation along elastic filaments embedded in a non-linear elastic medium. We find that embedded microtubules buckle when their compressive load exceeds a critical value fc, and that the resulting deformation is restricted to a penetration dept...