arXiv subjects

Colin M. Meulblok

Publications and source records attributed to Colin M. Meulblok.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Vectorial driving of multistable materials: singularities, pt-graphs, and non-generic paths

Describing and predicting the response of multistable materials to external driving is central to memory formation, programmable metamaterials, soft robotics, and in-materia computing. While scalar driving is captured by transition graphs (t-graphs), vectorial driving produces path-dependent responses that require the recently introduced path-transition graphs (pt-graphs). In both cases, transitions are governed by singularities in the energy landscape: for scalar driving these correspond to saddle-node bifurcations, but for vectorial driving, higher-order singularities become important. Combining experiments on chain-like metamaterials with a minimal spring model, we investigate how higher-order singularities shape pt-graphs and the resulting path-dependent responses. We moreover discuss the role of non-generic driving paths through higher-order singularities, where the response is governed by spontaneous symmetry breaking. Finally, we demonstrate how t-graphs emerge as the one-dimensional limit of pt-graphs, unifying scalar and vectorial driving within a common graph-based framework. These results establish a singularity-based approach to path-dependent responses and provide a foundation for designing multistable materials with programmable sequential functionality for smart sensing, soft robotics, and in-materia computation.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2026

Path-dependency and emergent computing under vectorial driving

The sequential response of frustrated materials-ranging from crumpled sheets and amorphous media to metamaterials-reveals their memory effects and emergent computational potential. Despite their spatial extension, most studies rely on a single global stimulus, such as compression, effectively reducing the problem to scalar driving. Here, we introduce vectorial driving of frustrated materials by applying multiple spatially localized stimuli to explore path-dependent, sequential responses. We uncover a wealth of phenomena absent in scalar driving, including non-Abelian responses, mixed-mode behavior, and chiral loop transients. We show that fold singularities connect three states -- ancestor, descendant, and sibling. This recurring pattern serves as the elementary building block of all sequential paths. We then introduce three levels of description of sequential, path-dependent responses. At the most fundamental level, path-dependent transition graphs (pt-graphs) and strain maps capture the response under arbitrary vectorial driving and connect pathways to the underlying singularities. They provide a complete description analogous to transition graphs (t-graphs) for scalar driving. However, as pt-graphs and strain maps become unwieldy for high-dimensional driving, we introduce b-graphs -- graphs whose nodes and transitions encode the systems response to binarized vectorial driving. These present a less complete but much simpler second-level description by restricting attention to binary input and their induced transitions. Finally, we introduce graph-based motifs that enable a systematic analysis of b-graphs. As statistical measures of pathway complexity, these motifs can be obtained in systems of any size or complexity. Our work paves the way for strategies to explore, harness, and understand complex materials and memory, while advancing embodied intelligence and in-materia computing.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2025

Accelerated snapping of slender beams under lateral forcing

The hysteretic snapping under lateral forcing of a compressed, buckled beam is fundamental for many devices and mechanical metamaterials. For a single-tip lateral pusher, an important limitation is that snapping requires the pusher to cross the centerline of the beam. Here, we show that dual-tip pushers allow accelerated snapping, where the beam snaps before the pusher reaches the centerline. As a consequence, we show that when a buckled beam under increased compression comes in contact with a dual-tip pusher, it can snap to the opposite direction -- this is impossible with a single-tip pusher. Additionally, we reveal a novel two-step snapping regime, in which the beam sequentially loses contact with the two tips of the dual-tip pusher. To characterize this class of snapping instabilities, we employ a systematic modal expansion of the beam shape. This expansion allows us to capture and analyze the transition from one-step to two-step snapping geometrically. Finally we demonstrate how to maximize the distance between the pusher and the beam's centerline at the moment of snapping. Together, our work opens up a new avenue for quantitatively and qualitatively controlling and modifying the snapping of buckled beams, with potential applications in mechanical sensors, actuators, and metamaterials.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2025

Transients and multiperiodic responses: a hierarchy of material bits

When cyclically driven, certain disordered materials exhibit transient and multiperiodic responses that are difficult to reproduce in synthetic materials. Here, we show that elementary multiperiodic elements with period T=2, togglerons, can serve as building blocks for such responses. We experimentally realize metamaterials composed of togglerons with tunable transients and periodic responses - including odd periods. Our approach suggests a hierarchy of increasingly complex elements in frustrated media, and opens a new strategy for rational design of sequential metamaterials.

cond-mat.soft↗